


Finding a Prince

by Luthwyn



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M, dogs!, prince AU, royal au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-26
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2019-02-22 02:28:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 16
Words: 39,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13157304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luthwyn/pseuds/Luthwyn
Summary: When Dan's parents decide that they have had enough of their sons fruitless search for a Queen they set him up with the dreaded countess of Perinia. In a desperate bid to escape the life he is destined to face, Dan leaves in search of someone to marry. During his travels however the young prince comes across a certain raven haired florist who seems more than he appears to be.





	1. Chapter 1

Dan had a tendency to be rather spoilt around other people. It wasn't his fault really; it was just that no one had the nerve to say no to him. He was a prince after all. He was also the heir to his family's kingdom and therefore their favourite and most doted upon child, so everyone just assumed he was a brat. Dan, who was in fact quite a decent person when he wanted to be, was rather annoyed by this fact but with him being seemingly allergic to most types of social interaction, he was never really in the public eye long enough to change their perspective of him. Yeah, he wasn't a horrible person, he just didn't really like talking to people, at all. It didn't help that is sarcastic attitude often came across as rude and while it was completely unintentional, he had managed to somehow managed to offend almost every noble in Serultria. Dan knew that he would one day have to mend these broken relations and he had to at least make some noble friends but for the mean time he was content to wallow in the lofty rooms of the palace, alone.

The palace Dan lived in was enormous. It had been passed down the family for generations and generations to the point, where despite its constant repairs, parts of it were beginning to fall to pieces. If you looked past the weathered brick and slightly off-white plaster on the outside of the palace however, you would have noticed the overall magnificence of this huge building. The grand entrance was outlined by the large intricately carved wooden doors that had everything from the Howell family crest to depictions of epic battles and passages from books carved into the shiny, maroon wood. You could spend hours looking at it and never get bored, at least no one had spent enough time looking at it to get bored. Several towers rose above the main part of the palace and pointed towards the sky, each one with a large room at the top and a solitary window looking out over the large expanses of forest and field outside the city. They always reminded Dan of the books be would read in the palace library, almost as if they were in a fairy tale and some poor maiden was about to lean out and sing a pretty song about the Prince that was sure to come and rescue her. The countless other windows that looked over the city were hung with green ivy and other climbing plants of all sorts, from dainty blue flowers to great bit roses the size of a hand. Although the outside of the palace was immensely impressive, it was the interior that made it special.

There were too many rooms to count for a start. At least thirty bedrooms along with a multitude of lounges, music rooms, painting rooms, pottery studios, kitchens, pantries, store rooms, servant's quarters and far more that probably hadn't been entered for years and years. Dan had tried many times to visit all of them however the winding corridors and endless rooms had always daunted him so he tended to keep to his own quarters. His room bore the usual red and gold that was saturated throughout the rest of the palace however with a bit of black to dull it down a bit. Black is, in Dan's opinion, the only acceptable colour for a room to be. Pair that with the young princes almost completely monochrome wardrobe and you have the perfect combination. Dan's favourite place however was the library. The shelves stacked up towards the ceiling and the once organised rows of books had been pulled out and stuffed back in so many times that the shelves no longer fitted them all so they had started to spill onto the desks and chairs by the floor. The library was quiet and for the most part deserted so it made for a great place to slowly get absorbed into another world. Plus, you could never run out of reading material.

Despite these amazing rooms there was one that stood out from the rest as the most beautiful in the palace. The Great throne room. The giant hall on the other side of the main doors was vast. The 50ft walls were ingrained with gold and red paint and five golden chandeliers, each holding at least 50 candles hung from the painted plaster ceiling. The floor was made of polished marble covered by intricate rugs and mats. Huge fireplaces, four on each side of the room, warmed hall and the flickering light made you warm and welcome. The Stain glass windows lining each side of the hall were like that of those in a church however the pictures were a little more light hearted than those in the city cathedral. There were endless things to look at, from small trinkets, gathered from every corner of the known kingdoms to exotic flowers displayed in colourful vases. The palace was certainly not a boring place.

The most striking objects of all however in the hall, were the two golden thrones at the far end of the hall, sat beneath the great rose-glass window which bathed the entire hall in a multitude of different colours when the sun shone right. Sometimes the hall would be filled with long dining tables where all manner of people would come together for great feasts. At these times the King, dressed in shiny gold armour topped off with a flowing red cloak, would sit cheerfully at the top of the hall on this throne with his wife in her lavish gown and kind smile sitting proudly next to him. Their two children, dressed in red and gold would sit at the end of one of the long wooden tables smiling politely and joining in with various conversations. This was particularly stressful for a certain antisocial Prince but it only happened rarely and he just had to fight his way through the awkward eye contact and invading questions that were constantly thrown at him.

When Dan was little he had always decided that he would move out of the royal palace and into a castle. He'd always liked the ideas of castles. The royal family of Reliquia had a lovely stone castle with broad grey walls and fairy-tale turrets, Dan been there once as a child and had been in awe. He remembered playing in the gardens with their daughter. Dan thought he'd had a bit of a crush on the girl but looking back she really was a bit of an arsehole. The Reliquia royal family were horrid, greedy people but the country of Reliquia itself had been quite beautiful. Dan wished Serultria was that pretty. His country was a land of boringness outside the palace, he was heir to a country of boringness, what a title. Since he had grown up, however he didn't mind the palace as much and, as awesome as a castle would be, as it would be rather impractical to build an enormous 70ft stone building in the middle of the city so he gradually went off the idea.

Although for the most part he enjoyed the quiet solitude of the palace, he did occasionally get lonely and that's why he had Louise. She was the palace doctor and had moved to the palace with her father, who had been the palace doctor up until he realised that pigeon racing was his true calling and had left to buy a flock of premium pigeons, when Dan was about 14. Dan had been overjoyed to have someone to play with. He had spent the better part of his life alone. Sure, he had his brother but he was a too young and Dan thought he was a bit annoying. He had always spent hours looking out of the clouded palace window into the streets below, watching all the children play and mess around with their friends. When Louise had come along he was so happy he finally had a best friend, even if she was just a little bit invasive. Although Dan was covered in the friend side of life he still lacked any sort of love life, something that bothered his parents greatly, and now a he was quickly approaching his 21st birthday, his parents had been almost desperate to find their son a princess. Dan had to admit that the parade of women that had been introduced to him over the last few weeks had all been lovely (except that one countess from Perinia, yikes) and if he were someone else, then he probably would have been happy settling down with anyone of them.

The only problem was that Dan didn't particularly want a princess; he would much prefer a prince to sit beside him on the throne when he came of age. The only person he had divulged this information to was his best friend, Louise. He has considered telling his parents but assumed it wouldn't go too well so whilst his parents spent hours excitedly introducing him to various suitable girls, Dan would sit and daydream about the beautiful prince that would come and rescue him from his dreary existence whist his little brother would drool over the lovely women attempting to woo the older. Not that he would ever be able to have his prince. Two men couldn't make a child and that's all his parents wanted out of his partner. The purpose of a queen was solely as the royal baby maker, something Dan had never really liked. He had come to the decision that since he was going to have to marry a girl he would always treat her as his equal and teach their kids to do the same. It was a nice thought but he wasn't sure he would actually be able to go through sex with a woman in order to make the little princes and princesses the king and queen wanted from him. After a few months of Dan rejecting almost every girl in Serultria the King and Queen had had enough. If Dan didn't find someone to marry soon they would have choice but to stop giving Dan the choice, and you'll never guess who their backup was. "The countess of Perinia!" Dan shouted as he entered his chambers, his mother looked up in shock of his sudden outburst.

"Please just anyone but her!" he begged as his mother regarded him with a sour look.

"Daniel stop being so rude. Come on she isn't that bad. She's rich, powerful and well respected, she'll make a good queen." She tried the last part hopefully as if it would help him change his mind.

Dan felt like crying. How could his parents do this to him? He barely even knew this wretched woman. When they had met, Dan had hardly spoken a word to her but he could tell from her turned up nose and sharp, bird like eyes that she was not the kind of person Dan wanted to be associated with, and that was before she had decided she was quite fond of the prince and dragged him around the castle like he was her little pet. She had been all over him, her hands wandering to places that they really shouldn't have been and when he got up to leave she had practically licked his face. It had made Dan feel sick. He cringed hard at the memory and his eyes stung with the effort of keeping back tears. He couldn't face the thought of spending the rest of his life with her. Dan's mother noticed his distress and went to comfort her son.

"I know you're not too happy about this but a King needs a Queen and you can't seem to settle on anyone yourself so we're just trying to make it easier for you."

"I won't do it."

"You don't have a choice."

Dan sniffed pitifully at his mother's words. Despite his instant disgust in the idea of getting a queen he realised he probably couldn't get out of it, especially if the king and queen had already informed her about their decision. There was nothing he could do about it, he wasn't just Dan, he was Prince Daniel of Serultria and he had duty to perform. He needed children to carry on the royal line and unfortunately that wouldn't be able to happen if he was with a boy. Not to mention the uproar it would cause in the kingdom if they found out they had a gay king. There was simply no way he could be happy if he wanted everyone else to be. Maybe he could invite one of the kinder girls back and take her as his wife. She could be happy living in a nice palace although they probably wouldn't be too happy if Dan came out. Not the countess though. She would tell everyone if she ever found out and Dan would be ruined. He couldn't live with her, he just couldn't, but there was no way he could get out of this, unless. . .

"What if I find myself someone else to marry? You know, before its made official."

"Daniel, you have seen and rejected pretty much every girl in the kingdom already. Who do you think you are going to marry?"

"I'll go out and look myself, I can visit different kingdoms and cities I'll be able to see what it's like out there rather than be stuck in here for the rest of my life with a wife I despise. I'm sure the right person is out there somewhere. "

He waved his hand in the vague direction of the window to emphasise his point. The Queen raised her eyebrow at him.

"Well you've been pretty picky so far but Dan dear you know nothing of anything outside the castle. You've never seen what it's like out there, you'll be eaten alive. Besides the countess might not be too bad once you get to know her, despise in a harsh word"

"Why do you always talk about the other kingdoms like they are wild scary places where nothing is safe." Dan replied, his voice raising in volume, "Why can't I choose whether I want to go or not!"

"Daniel James Howell, you do not speak to your mother like that!" The Queen began to shout, "You are not leaving this palace and you will marry the countess, whether you like it or not!" With that she stood up and stalked out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her.

Dan sighed. He didn't really want to marry anyone, he just wanted to get out of the palace, disappear. Maybe then he could stop being the prince, find someone he liked. He would be able to get a good job, he was literate and good at maths so it shouldn't be too hard. He could set up a shop maybe, a bookstore would be nice, but then he let out a sigh and leant back onto his bed. He was the heir to the throne, he couldn't just disappear. Yeah, he had a brother but he couldn't just dump all the burdens of being king onto him. Dan had been training his whole life to be king and he still found the prospect hugely daunting. No, he wouldn't leave forever, just until he got married. Once he had officially got married there was nothing they could do about it, even if he has a groom instead of a bride. He wondered what this mystery man would look like, brown eyes, blue eyes, green eyes, tall, short, slim, buff. He was going to run away and marry his perfect man, what a plan. Oh, he couldn't wait to meet him. Dan was happy getting lost in his daydream when he was

"Earth to Dan, earth to Dan." Dan blinked suddenly at the interruption.

"Louise." he whined at his friend.

"Dan." she whined back mockingly, giggling.

"What? You sound funny when you go all whiny, like a little girl," she teased. Dan rolled his eyes but regarded his friend with a fond look. Although sometimes she was a bit overbearing, Louise really was his best friend. Suddenly he frowned, thinking about what he was going to tell her. He knew she wouldn't be very happy about it. 

"Dan what's the matter?" Louise asked softly, noticing the change in his demeanour. Dan swallowed thickly, his throat suddenly seeming very dry. Perhaps he shouldn't tell her, it would probably only make her feel worse, then again he couldn't just leave with no warning.

"I'm running away," he muttered quietly.

"What do you mean you're running away?" Louise asked in a voice that bordered on shrieking,

"You can't leave! You'll die! Why do you want to run away!"

"Bloody hell Louise I'm twenty not two, act like it. I am perfectly capable of looking after myself. It won't be forever. Just until I find someone to marry." Louise looked at Dan with a puzzled expression.

"I thought you were going to marry the Countess of Perinia?"

"Well I'm not."

"Dan . . ." she sighed

"No Louise I'm telling you I am not going to marry that god-awful witch, she can burn in hell for all I care. I'm going out to look for someone I want to marry. Once I'm married my mother and father won't be able to do anything about it and I'll actually be happy."

Louise's eyes softened and she wrapped her arms around her best friend.

"Dan finding the right someone can take a long time and in this crazy, big world we live in anything can happen. Yes, the right person may be out there somewhere but that doesn't mean you'll be able to find them. There are a lot of people who want harm to come to you and your family and the world is a dangerous place. I just want you to be safe. What if you never find the right person? What if you spend your entire life searching and still end up having nothing to show for it? I'm just trying to protect you."

Dan stood up angrily.

"I'm sick of people trying to protect me. I'm not some precious object made of glass that needs to be kept same locked away so I can be safe at all times. I want to be adventurous, I want to see what's out there in the world, and if it takes me my whole life to find someone I want to spend the rest of it with then so be it. At least my life will have been an interesting one. I won't spend the rest of my life in misery because some people want to keep me safe!"

With that Dan stormed out of the room, although since it had been his own chambers he had stormed out of, he didn't really know where to go. Louise sighed to herself and prayed that Dan wouldn't do anything stupid. He tended to get too wrapped up in his imagination, the image of the world he had probably conjured up in his head was probably nothing like reality. She would always worry for him, that's what best friends do, but there was more at stake here than one man's health. She would talk some sense him in the morning when he had slept on the idea of leaving, and if he was really that set she would have no choice but to inform the king and queen of their son's decision.


	2. Chapter 2

The crescent moon was slowly starting to disappear over the horizon and the dark night sky was beginning to turn a milky shade of blue by the time Dan decided to leave. He was often wandering around the palace corridors late at night so the servants who tended to stay up until the early hours in the morning didn't really question Dan as he paced up and down them, occasionally going into other rooms and coming out with a few pieces of clothing or some small trinket that used to be stored there. They would have however, definitely been questioning him if they knew what he was really up too. This was because Dan was packing. Now even if he were going on some random royal trip that nobody had bothered to tell any of the servants about Dan never did his packing, he always just gets his maid to do it.

Perhaps this was why at that particular moment he was frustratingly attempting to shove no less than four pairs of shoes into a satchel hardly big enough for a couple of books. After about ten minutes of fruitless struggling, Dan came to his senses and realised that if he wanted to get enough supplies in the satchel for the trip to the next town he would have to give up the shoes. By the time he had finished packing he had, by some miracle managed to fit; a spare change of clothes, a map of the kingdom, enough gold to comfortably last at least a few months and some other trinkets that Dan decided might be able to help him such a firelighter used to light the palace fireplaces, a small switch blade that he used to keep by his bed in case of any danger that night be lurking in the dark and a small pocket watch given to him by his favourite butler before he retired.

Dan sort of wished he could say goodbye to Louise. He wouldn't be gone for ever, a few months at most, but he knew she would worry and he couldn't bear the thought of her being upset. She was the only person who knew he was running away but she had assumed he wasn't being serious. He was pretty sure she had still been a little bit worried he would actually do it but she had gone to bed and left him alone, which wasn't a good idea. Of course, Louise had only trusted Dan enough to leave him alone and go to bed because she knew there was no way Dan would leave in the dark, which was true. It was also true that he was afraid of it although not that many people actually knew about that. What good would a king be if he was afraid of the dark? But it was this fear that had caused Dan to time his escape to near perfection. As soon and the world began to turn that murky grey it always turned when the sun was yet to rise early in the morning and the corners and alleys of the city lost their dark, foreboding appearance, then Dan would be off. He had to do it perfectly though, leave too early and he would have to face the dark passageways of the city where danger was everywhere but leave too late and he would be spotted by the servants and merchants that worked in the palace grounds during the day, he only had one shot at this. He needed to make it count.

Dan's room was beginning to look light enough to make out the outline of his window and Dan could hear the occasional bird start to sing outside. He had to go, now. He had already changed out of his insanely expensive princely attire and had put on something more akin to the average person so he ripped the covers of his bed, grabbed his satchel, and said goodbye to his room, for the time being at least. Dan edged open the door to his room, checked there was nobody about and headed out into the corridor. Most servants used the passageways built into the walls of the palace to avoid running into the royal family. Usually this annoyed Dan as it would always make the corridors around the palace feel empty and unused, he swore sometimes he could feel sorry for them. Now however, it worked well in his favour. He had made it down three flights of stairs before he ran into anyone.

"Sire, what are you doing out at this time in the morning?" Dan jumped at the sudden voice.

"Ah Dennis, you scared me for a second," Dan replied to the butler with a nervous chuckle, "I'm just . . . having a little wander around the palace that's all. "

Dennis was looking at him strangely. Dan could feel his eyes run over him, trying to figure out what the prince was doing. Suddenly his eyes widened but his face returned to its usual polite smile almost immediately, and if Dan hadn't have been studying the butlers face waiting for a reaction then he would have missed it.

"Oh, I'm sorry sire; I did not mean to disturb you." The butler bowed awkwardly before turning and hurrying off in the direction Dan was sure he had just come from. Dan had also noted the odd way Dennis had been eyeing his satchel bag and outdoor clothes. Maybe lying hadn't been such a good idea because now that dam butler was going to tell someone the prince was trying to run away. This was bad. Maybe he could go back up to bed and pretend he really just did go for a walk around the palace but then again nobody in their right mind would think that Daniel Howell would get out of bed at half four in the morning to go for a walk. His mother would know, certainly after their conversation yesterday. If he got found, he would probably never be allowed to leave his room ever again. No, he had to do this now.

"Ah screw it!" Dan muttered to himself before turning towards the stairs and starting off at a sprint. He knew quite a few ways out of the palace that were rarely used and hoped to get there before anyone turned up to stop him leaving. Unfortunately for Dan the palace guards turned out to be a lot fitter than him and the servant's passageways a far more efficient way of getting around the palace because, as he got to the door, he ran straight into an incredibly buff guard.

"Oh hey . . . Simon, is it? How's the wife?" Dan said nervously, which was then followed by a high-pitched squeal as he was lifted of the ground by 250lbs of pure muscle. The security guard let out a grunt of amusement and set Dan back on his feet.

"Where do you think, you're going kid?" he said gruffly. Now is Dan hadn't had been a tad pissed off by some random security guard deciding to manhandle him he was now.

"I am not a kid!" he replied angrily.

"Really, you sure look like one."

"I do not!"

"Yup you do, struggle like one to."

"For your information, I am 20 years old. Do you even know who I am?!"

"Yep"

"It's yep sir to you!" The guard (Simon?) let out a small with a chuckle at that,

"Now are you going to come nicely or am I going to have to drag you." He said with a harsher tone. Dan could see there was no way out of this. He cringed in embarrassment at the thought of being dragged through the palace by a security guard. What would he say to his mother though. She would be furious. There was no point in trying to hide his intentions now, why else would he have got up at a ridiculous time in the morning and try it leave the palace. He was never really one for early mornings. Not to mention the satchel that had enough supplies in it to last him a fair while. Wait, speaking of the satchel, where was it? Dan craned his neck to try and see where his small bag had got to.

"Now look here kid, there ain't no way out of this so quit trying!" Simon scolded. Dan tried to back away from the guard, still searching round for his satchel. Suddenly the guard picked Dan up again and he had the sudden horrid realisation that the guard was intending to carry him back through the palace.

"I'm taking you to see your mother, she sure is going to be mad at you." Dan was getting more irritated by the second and Simons somewhat cheery rendition of the phrase he had been told by just about every guard, maid, butler, chef or any other member off staff in the palace was definitely not helping.

"Ok ok, just let me go!" He shouted, desperately trying to wriggle out of Simons grip. The guard released his grip on the young prince chuckling to himself. Simon took hold of Dan's shoulders and started leading him back towards the main hall of the palace where a very angry king and queen were probably waiting to meet him, so much for his master plan. Maybe it was just not his destiny to marry anyone other than that wretched countess, although he never really was much of a believer of destiny. Suddenly Dan was hit with a stroke of look however, because just when Dan was about to be lead through the heavy set of doors at the end of the hallway, the door behind them opened and an elderly woman carrying a basket full of laundry shuffled in. The guard leaned over to open the door leading into the main part of the palace and Dan saw his chance. He ducked under Simon's arm and sprinted down the corridor towards the exit, and his freedom. The poor old lady only had just enough time to get out of the way before Dan had shot past into the courtyard of the palace, grabbing his satchel which the old lady had kicked out of the way as she walked in. He slammed the door shut behind him and heard a loud bang followed by a string of curse words as the poor security guard was throw to the ground with the force of impact.

Right now Dan was out of the palace, time for phase two. He had meant to go to the stables, get his horse and get away as fast as possible but it was slowly beginning to dawn on him that that would no longer be an option as the stables were swarming with guards. He guessed he wouldn't be able to take Thunder then. Thunder was the fastest horse in the stables and had always been Dan's favourite. Ok so he couldn't get to thunder, who else could he take. He looked around in dismay. None of the horses had been taken out this early in the morning, they were all in the stables. Dan wouldn't get very far without a horse, he was getting desperate. That's when he notices a glimmer of hope, a bright shining light at the end of the dark tunnel that was his ever so difficult life. A shaggy grey farm horse tied to the fence on the far side of the yard next to the gate. The horse was old and slightly scrawny looking but it was the best he could do at the moment. It must belong to some old farmer who came to trade with the one of the many businesses that had set up shop within the palace.

Oh well, it was Dan's now, he pretty much owned everything else in the kingdom anyway. He could repay whosoever horse it was when he got back. He mounted the grey horse in one swift, practised movement and headed for the gate at full pelt. The guards at the top of the gate shouted and pointed in his direction, trying their best to communicate across that Dan should not be let out, but it was too late. The guards at the bottom of the wall ran to quickly pull the gates shut but they were too slow and Dan rushed out into the main city, galloping away on the grey horse. He heard the clatter of hooves behind him and knew the guards must be after him however, their horses were big and sturdy, nowhere near agile enough to navigate in a city. He pulled the right side of the reigns sharply and the horse skittered round a tight bend and into an alley. The guards who were galloping full speed behind him on their war horses skidded past the turning and crashed into a few cabbage stalls further up the street. Dan knew he hadn't lost them yet and urged the grey horse to go faster. The poor animal's nostrils were flaring violently and it pupils were wide and dilated. Dan felt almost sorry for the farm horse who obviously wasn't really used to high speed chases around cities. Dan continued to ride down one of the main roads, civilians leaping out of his path as he hurtled past them toward the city gates. The guards at the gate had obviously yet to be told about the missing prince who was now making a bolt straight for the city exit and watched on obliviously as he flew out into the city and disappeared behind a stretch of trees. He had done it, Dan was free.


	3. Chapter 3

Dan woke up the next day cold, achy and with an almost overwhelming urge to cry. It had been later the previous evening when he had realised that his little escape may have been a very bad mistake. He hadn't gotten very far out of the city before the old grey horse had begun to slow down out of exhaustion. The poor thing wasn't used to running around cities and going full sprint for several miles. Dan had considered ditching it at the next city he came to but he had grown quite fond of him. Liking him however did not excuse the fact that the horse was old and slow. Luckily for Dan a few stray hoof prints had lead the city guards off in the complete wrong direction and they were miles behind by now. The grey horse which Dan had now christened Ethel had needed to stop frequently for rest and water and as night began to fall they were still very far away from the nearest town or village. Dan had guessed by the path he was on that he was on his way to Tulow, a small village at the corner of the empire. This was when Dan had also realised that perhaps he should have taken into account his fear of the dark when he decided to go on a wild adventure in an incredibly dark forest. The tall trees around him could hold all sorts of dreadful creatures and his rather active imagination was not doing him any favours.  
Dan had been riding in the dark for a few hours and was getting nowhere. He could barely see a few metres in front of him and had a sure feeling that they had wandered off the path so he had decided to settle down for the night. He had collected some wood and attempted to use the firelighter he stole from the castle to light it however having been raised in the safety of a palace he had no idea how to actually start a fire and the most he could get was a small puff of smoke. The small sparks the firelighter created caused a small amount of light to flickered over the surrounding trees, briefly casting shadows over the wooded floor in a way that gave the illusion of movement which only helped scare the young prince more. Defeated Dan had pulled a spare shirt out of his bag and huddled underneath it and the cold began to set in. The last thing he remembered before falling asleep was the crippling thought that maybe he wouldn't be able to do this and that he would be destined to marry the countess, but then again, he never really did believe in destiny.  
It was raining by the time morning came around and to Dan's dismay he realised that he and Ethel had indeed strayed off the path, and he had no way of finding it again. He also realised, as he was looking through his satchel, that in his daring escape from the palace he had somehow managed to drop most of the money he had bought with him. He had enough for about two nights in an inn and maybe a small amount of food if he was lucky, not nearly enough. Well that wouldn't really matter if he didn't find his way back to the path because dead bodies don't really require food and a place to stay. Dan wondered if there was any point in getting up at all. They had walked for hours last night; the path could be miles away. Even if he managed to light a fire and set up smoke signals he was in a relatively remote area of the Serultrian empire, to find anybody would be a miracle.  
He was about to lie himself back on the ground in pity when Ethel began to stamp his feet in agitation.  
"What do you want now?" Dan said in exasperation.  
"Just let me die in peace!" suddenly a howl echoed around the forest. Dan's face paled  
"Actually thinking about it I don't want to die!" he said hurriedly. Quickly snatching up his satchel he leapt onto the old horse and urged him into a gallop. The howling was still very far behind them but wolves can run for a very long time and Dan didn't particularly fancy becoming dog meat.  
"Come on Ethel, faster, you can do it." he muttered into the old stallion's ear. Ethel eyes were rolled into the back of his head and his mouth was beginning to froth as the Prince pulled his reigns again to prevent a head-on collision with a tree. The howling started again and Dan reverted to simply clinging to the old horses back as he bolted. Suddenly Ethel came to an abrupt stop as he was met with a large stone cliff face. Dan flew straight over the horse's head in a rather dramatic dive and landed in a heap on the floor.

In his daze, Dan could hear a strange noise. Maybe he had concussion or maybe he was just hearing things but was that someone . . . clapping? He squinted up to the top of the limestone canyon that Ethel had run them into to see a tall figure at the top of the small cliff applauding them.

"Great dive really, ten out of ten for style!" the man called down in a fit of giggles. Dan looked at him in confusion, wasn't he in the middle of nowhere? Where had this guy even come from? The man had now decided to scramble down the cliff and help Dan out. His movements were jerky and clumsy and Dan had to admit he feared for the mystery man's life, wait wasn't he just fearing for his own life? Oh shit, the wolves!

"Hey you, clapping man!" He yelled up to the man who was currently scrambling down the last few meters of the rock face, "I think we need to get out of here!"

"Whys that?" the man asked, cocking his head to the side. Now that he was closer Dan was able to see what the man really looked like. The first thought that came into the young prince's head was just that this man was very pretty. He had very pale skin so probably wasn't a farmer but his clothes were anything but fancy. He was wearing a thin cotton shirt with a brown jacket over the top that outlined his lanky frame well. Dan couldn't really tell his age but he looked to be around twenty-three or twenty-four, definitely older than Dan. His eyes were a sort of blue green colour but almost seemed to change as he moved and Dan had to admit he found them as strange as he did attractive. The man's hair was very dark and contrasted starkly against his pale skin and Dan had an odd feeling it wasn't natural although how he got his hair to be that dark he had no idea.

After a few seconds of ogling at the stranger, Dan realised he was giggling. The Man's eyes were squeezed shut and his tongue was poking out of his teeth in a way which Dan thought was very cute. Oh wait, the wolves, God dam this man and his distractingly pretty face.

"I heard howling I think there might be some wolves following me." The prince said urgently,

"I really think we should go before they get here!" To his surprise the man started full of shrieking with laughter. It was quite loud and Dan looked around him nervously expecting some huge wolf with pointy teeth and sharp claws to leap out at him any second. The man continued to laugh hysterically for a good few minutes until he was doubled over clutching at his stomach and gasping for breath.

"Um can we do this weird laughing thing later, I really don't fancy being eaten alive."

"Oh, I really am sorry," The man said wiping a tear from his eye, "but there aren't any wolves in this part of the country, didn't you know that?" Dan shook his head, suddenly feeling very confused.

"What was all that howling then?" He asked furrowing his eyebrows together. The man giggled again.

"Oscar! Archie!" He called loudly in to the canyon. Suddenly an enormous grey wolfhound bounded into sight, tongue hanging out of its mouth and tail wagging happily. It made a beeline straight for Dan, knocking straight into him, sending him sprawling onto the ground.

"Ah, get it off me!" Dan yelled as the huge dog continued to slobber all over his new friend.

"Archie get off him!" the man said exasperatedly, pulling the wolfhound off Dan. Archie tail continued to wag as it attempted to slobber all over his masters face as well.

"Silly dog get down." The man muttered, pushing Archie off him, "Now where's Oscar? Oscar!" The man shouted again. Dan braced himself for another huge dog to run at him again but instead a small black and white dog trotted around the corner.

It looked a bit like one of the sheepdogs that the farmers on the outskirts of Serultria used to control their herds but it was a lot smaller and its legs quite a bit shorter as well. In fact, it almost looked as though someone had crossed a sheepdog with one of the small palace corgis that his mother was so fond of. Dan could see no real purpose for such a dog but it looked cute. The small dog, Oscar, trotted up to Dan and sat at his feet, wagging his tale.

"Aww he likes you." The man said fondly.

"You mean to tell me that I just went flying off on my horse into the middle of nowhere and threatened myself with serious injury because of a wolfhound that likes to lick people's faces and a midget sheepdog."

"Basically yeah." The man said apologetically, but then he bent down to pick up Oscar and hugged him tightly. "Don't listen to the mean man Oscar you aren't a midget sheepdog."

"Yes, he is," Dan replied indignantly.

"For your information, he's a designer breed, and I think some people take offence to the word midget so watch your tongue."

Dan raised his eyebrows at the man in surprise, the only person to have ever spoken to him in that way was his mother.

"Ok whatever." He answered, raising his hands in surrender, "getting a bit protective over a dog aren't you."

"I like him." The man muttered, clearly annoyed. Dan had to stifle a giggle and this man's childishness. "I'm sorry but I don't think I caught your name." Dan said with a smile.

"That's coz I didn't say it." The man replied with a grin.

"Well may I learn it then?" The man looked at Dan suspiciously for a second but then his gaze softened. "Phil." He said happily offering out his hand.

"Dan." The prince replied shaking Phil's hand enthusiastically.

Phil regarded Dan with an odd look before shaking his head dismissively.

"Something wrong?" Dan asked, brushing some of the mud off his jacket.

"No no." Phil replied hurriedly. "You just look sort of familiar that's all." Dan swallowed thickly. Phil couldn't have recognised him as the prince, could he? No, Dan was never out in public, hardly anyone knew what he really looked like. Maybe Phil just knew someone who looked like him, yeah that's more likely.

"No, I'm not really from around here so you probably won't know me."

"Yeah, your right, I'm sorry."

"No, it's ok." Dan replied quietly. Was it just him or did Phil look sort of disappointed. Why? Was Phil hoping he was someone else. Did he recognise him as the prince and was sad that he couldn't claim to have met him, it had happened before. Dan was sure he was looking into it too much but he couldn't help but wonder what had changed his cheery demeanour so quickly.

"Anyway!" Phil said loudly, breaking the silence between them. "I've got to take the dogs back and you've just had a nasty fall, do you want to come back to my house and clean up. You look like you could use a bath and I think your horse needs attention."

Dan looked back at Ethel. He had his side pressed against the cliff face and was still breathing heavily after their frantic escape from the imaginary wolves. Neither of them had really eaten or drunk since they had left the palace and judging from how Dan felt, Ethel must be dying for a drink and something to eat.

"That would be lovely thank you." Dan said, fluttering his eyelashes at Phil. The older man rolled his eyes.

"Alright come on, it's not that far. I promise."


	4. Chapter 4

As it turns out what Phil thought as 'not far' turned out to be more than Dan had ever had to walk in his life and he hated it. In the Palace the most exercise he ever really had to do was swordsmanship training. Despite being quite good at it he always found a way to wriggle out of his lessons through supposed injuries or the simple fact that he was a prince and to any servant or guest in the house it his word goes and that's it. Despite skipping certain lessons as a Prince he was well taught in how to run a kingdom and things like that. He had to be or he'd be a pretty crap king. The importance of his future job had been drilled into him before he could even understand the language they were talking in. It was quite a scary thought, that one day he would be running a kingdom. He had also been around people who treated him with a lot of respect and to have someone like Phil who he barely knew laugh and make fun of him was odd. The only people who would usually do that were Louise and the occasional cocky palace guard.

He missed Louise. It had only been just over two days since he saw her last but Dan missed her comforting presence and advice. He wondered what she would think of Phil. She'd probably be so desperate to get Dan back he would force Phil into marrying him. He could just what Louise would be doing now if she was stood behind them, probably trying to get them to fall on top of each other in order to have a dramatic first kiss or something equally cheesy. Dan let out a giggle at thought earning an odd glance from Phil but he didn't really care. His thoughts on Louise got him back thinking about the palace and everything he was missing there.

Judging by the sun it must have been about three in the afternoon and it was Thursday today so usually Dan would be in economics. Part of him was sad that he wouldn't be seeing Marilyn to discuss the financial position of the neighbouring kingdom, but most of him was glad he was missing it. Then he began thinking of all the lessons he would be missing, English with Mrs Ashwyn, Sciences with Mr Sky and Music with Miss Haylor (though he was actually glad to be missing that last one, she was a bitch). He realized then that the sinking feeling in his gut was homesickness but quickly dismissed it. Zakira, his cousin, was even supposed to be visiting the Palace next week. He wondered if she had even been told about his disappearance.

It would be unlikely that his parents would release it as public information themselves but he was sure it wouldn't to be kept a secret for long. Some soldier sent to find him or a palace servant would let slip and soon his face would be plastered around the kingdom. He probably couldn't stay with Phil for long before the other man would figure out who he was which was a shame because even though they had met not two hours ago he was quite fond of him. He was witty and funny, not to mention drop dead gorgeous, perhaps Dan could persuade Phil to be his prince. No. Dan shook his head to get rid of the idea. He couldn't just decide to stay with the first attractive guy he saw; he would at least have to have a browse of the other options first. He wondered if he could stay with Phil though, let him be the backup. Once Phil found out Dan's true identity Dan could simply ask the other man to travel with him. He wouldn't say no to the prince. If nobody else came along he could simply settle with Phil, yeah that would do. Dan smiled at his plan but then a wave of guilt washed over him. Maybe that was a bit mean, it felt a bit like he was using Phil. Dan shook his head once more; he would cross that hurdle when he got to it.

So he and Phil would travel, what would Dan do about being recognized though? Perhaps he could escape over the border. The king and queen probably wouldn't believe that their son would cross over into another kingdom after having brought him up believing all other kingdoms were evil. Of course he had visited many of them on royal visits to pay homage to various deities or to sign some peace treaty of another and as far he knew they weren't actually too bad. There were three kingdoms bordering Serultria; Montersera, Ipsum and the other, the one they don't talk about.

He would never even dream of visiting that place. Serultria had been at war for years. As nice as the kingdom may seem to the ordinary folks of the kingdom anybody higher up knows about the war. A peace treaty governing the fourteen known kingdoms stated that any sort of violence between kingdoms was strictly forbidden. If any sort of war broke out all trading to and from the kingdoms involved would be stopped, weakening and if it got too far, eventually destroying them. Serultria couldn't risk a fate like that so when the two neighbouring kingdoms declared war it was a war of assassinations, poisoning of crops and water sources, discreet actions that would go unnoticed by the vast majority but greatly affected the kingdom as a whole. The last major event had been the murder of Captain Arden of the Serultrian royal guard. Dan had been good friends with Arden and had been distraught to find out he had been killed. He still missed the captain greatly which made him loath the other kingdom even more.

The kingdom was called Solmorta, the land of the dead sun. Dan had never ventured across it borders but from what he had read in the old books of the palace library he could gather it was a cold, frostbitten place. The books told of the capital city, Pruinae, being permanently covered in ice. The precious metals that had formed in the surrounding mountains were the only thing keeping the kingdom alive. Apart from the dusty books in the library nobody really knew much about Solmorta. It had been so long since anyone from, Serultria had venture into its depths and returned alive that there information was almost ridiculously outdated. The only information that had been gained in the last ten years had been news on the royal family of Solmorta. They knew that the king and queen had had three children; two sons and a daughter however, the information they needed was what had happened to these children. The eldest son had renounced his title of crown prince after a particularly nasty attack on the family and soon after the younger son had disappeared leaving the throne to the youngest child, Princess Silvia. Nobody knew what had happened to the youngest son but the king and queen of Serultria had simply come to the conclusion that he was dead, there weren't really anymore possibilities.

Dan had often wondered that maybe if things were different he could make peace with Solmorta during his reign of king but it would be highly unlikely. Not only would a union between two kingdoms that had such an underlying hatred for each other be practically impossible, but Dan himself had become rather reluctant in making peace. He hated that kingdom and their stupid royal family who wanted nothing more than to harm him and everyone he cared about. They were all a bunch of murderous savages in his opinion. They could stick to their land of ice and death, they weren't having his kingdom.

Dan let out a long sigh in an effort to erase the troubling thoughts that had wormed their way into his brain. He had already expressed his discomfort in how far they were having to walk to Phil many times and he didn't want to seem annoying . . . His feet were still fucking killing though.

"Are we there yet?" He whined for about the thousandth time. Half an hour after he had pledged not to annoy Phil anymore they were still walking and Dan had given up. His feet hurt even more if possible and he wasn't even allowed to ride Ethel due to how exhausted the poor animal was; it seemed he couldn't get two steps without stumbling. It didn't help that Oscar seemed hell-bent on tripping him over.

"No" Phil sighed, "believe you me I would have defiantly not agreed to inviting you over if I'd know you would whine like a five year old girl for the entire time. We've only been walking for like three miles!"

"Three miles!" Dan shrieked, "I thought you said it wasn't far! Wait, how much further have we got to walk?"

"Usually this wouldn't take me more than an hour; I'm only waiting for you, besides it's only about another mile or so."

The only sound that made it past the young prince's lips was a squeak of horror. Usually when he had to travel great distances he would ride Thunder who could keep going for hours and hours so he had no real reason to ever walk to far. The only discomfort he faced during these trips was a sore bum and the annoyance of having less superior accommodation than that of which he was used to. There prospect of still having such a way to walk and yet being so exhausted and sore and unable to rest was incredible daunting to the young prince, so daunting in fact that he had to have a bit of a sit down. A sit down in which he very stubbornly refused to get up from until Phil was literally dragging him along the floor.

"Come on get up." Phil said exasperatedly, having realized that Dan was far too heavy to drag and given up.

"No I can't do it, I'm going to die!" Phil continued to look down at him with the same sort of face you would give to a troublesome toddler who was refusing to behave. Dan simply turned his back on the other man and continued to attempt to make himself comfortable on the floor. They both stood and sat in silence for about ten minutes until Phil let out an irritated sigh.

"Ok I've had enough." Suddenly Dan felt himself hoisted up by his armpits. Phil was stronger than he looked.

"Ah put me down, put me down!" Dan squealed as he was held with his feed kicking desperately a few inches off the ground.

"If you are going to act like such a whiney child I'll treat you like one. Now does Ikle Wikle Danny want a piggy back?" Suddenly he was dropped back down on his feet. Dan knew the words were support to be condescending but he couldn't help but smile at the thought from getting a piggy back from the rather attractive man in front of him, not to mention his feet were really sore.

"Maybe." He replied with a wink. Phil looked a bit startled by his answer but after a second of consideration shrugged.

"Alright why not." Dan's face lit up, surprised he had actually said yes. Phil crouched down to allow Dan to jump on his back and after a couple of tries Dan was comfortably nestled on Phil's back with his legs wrapped around the older man's waist and arms strung around his neck. Well maybe comfortable was the wrong word, Phil's shoulder blades were digging into his back a bit was and his legs sort of stung where Phil was holding them but it was a lot better than walking. Dan hugged Phil, enjoying the warmth that radiated from him.

"Try not to strangle me yeah." Phil said as Dan tightened his grip, nestling into the others neck. Maybe this was a bit too far for someone he met literally half an hour ago but then again what did he really have to loose. If Phil was made uncomfortable with the younger boy's sudden actions he didn't let it show.

Dan continued to cling to Phil's back as the other man plodded on steadily, dogs running after them and Ethel stumbling along with them, keeping a fair distance away from the wolfhound that had taken a particular interest in him. After about another twenty minutes of walking Dan could tell Phil was starting to struggle. He was surprised they had gotten this far. There was a voice in his head telling him he was being ridiculous and rude but he couldn't find it in himself to ask to be put down. The selfish part of him was telling him how comfortable he was and Dan had got used to the warmth of Phil's back. He sorted just wanted to fall asleep. He was sure Phil wouldn't mind, right? His eyelids were starting to droop and his brain started to go a bit foggy. Only a few minutes he thought and then everything went dark as sleep engulfed him.


	5. Chapter 5

The first thing Phil noticed when he came to put Dan down was that he seemed rather floppy, so floppy in fact that instead of sensibly dropping to the floor and landing on his feet which was what the other man expected, Dan simply fell to the floor in a heap. It then dawned on him that the little bugger had actually fallen asleep on him and somehow, despite his unfortunate collision with the floor, was actually still sleeping. He looked quite sweet like that, lying there peacefully, his face free from the looks of distaste and annoyance that had plagued it since their journey had begun. It didn't really surprise Phil that Dan was asleep. He had looked completely exhausted when they had met during the rather unfortunate "wolf that was actually a tiny dog" incident. Not to mention his constant complaints on the walk back. The boy was possibly one of the most unfit people Phil had ever had the misfortune of meeting; well he says misfortune but in all honest he had already grown quite attached to the man. In fact Phil might even go as far to say he had started to gain a small crush on him, which was odd because he didn't tend to take to people that quickly and yet it was clear that he already become infatuated with Dan, despite only having known him for a few hours at most.

He wasn't really to blame; Dan was admittedly quite handsome with adorable curly brown hair and alluring brown eyes that were warm yet guarded. Phil wondered how old he was, his face was young and his skin free from many blemishes that came with age and yet also free of the marks that being a teenager brought so he must be past that stage. Perhaps around nineteen or twenty, so a bit young for him. He was very tall, only an inch or so smaller than Phil, but lacked the muscular frame that most adults gained in their early twenties which was odd for someone you might casually find wandering the forest in the middle of nowhere. It also soon dawned on Phil that he had invited this random stranger into his home without any knowledge of who he was and why he was roaming said random forest. Phil also realised that throughout their short conversations they had shared Dan had been quite reluctant to reveal much if any information about himself to the other man so he would probably have to rely on other ways to find out more about this mystery man.

The first thing Phil did was look at Dan's hands. You can tell a lot of things from people's hands. The first thing he noticed was that Dan's hands were incredibly smooth and pale, not the sort of hands a normal person would have. Phil, for example, had rough hands, covered in calluses and scars from his time as a manual labourer. He also had a patch of skin from the knuckle down to the base of his thumb where a cross-guard would have rested, outlining where he would have once held a sword, but those days were long gone. Dan had that same mark but in his left-hand whilst Phil had it on his right, so Dan was left handed. It was clear that Dan had used a sword quite frequently in order to obtain that mark but even through the mud that caked his hands, it was clear to see his hands were not those of a soldier. They weren't even the hands of a servant, let alone any other type of labourer. That along with his lack of stamina probably indicated towards a rich upbringing, the son of some lord perhaps. Had he possibly run away or did he just get lost and was afraid that Phil would attempt to make money out of him or something similar should he reveal his true identity. He wondered what had caused him to run away, he had a rather odd accent, not somebody from around here then.

Then there were his clothes and his horse. Dan was wearing simple clothes, those of which a normal city dweller would usually have worn but apart from being a bit dirty, they looked pretty much brand new. If somebody from the city decided they were going travelling through potentially dangerous forests they would not be wearing their new clothes. Probably for fear of ruining them or being potentially robbed. Dan looked rather out of place in them and judging by the inside out shirt he wasn't used to wearing it. Phil was beginning to feel quite proud of himself for how much he had managed to deduce. So far what he had worked out that Dan probably had a rich upbringing and although was taught how to use a sword was never in service to the military. It was also quite likely he had run away and in a hurry judging from his small and rather badly packed satchel. This was further supported from the old farm horse he had been riding which was probably stolen. He could see where the horse had been branded on its rump. He didn't recognise the breeder so it probably wasn't one that sold to rich farms in the kingdoms. Whilst he had been thinking he sort of lost track of time and to shake his head to rid himself of those thoughts before he became lost in them. His mind had a tendency to get side-tracked and he a ton of work to do today.

Phil looked down at Dan thoughtfully. He was still lying on a heap on the ground, softly snoring. After a few moments consideration Phil began to have a look round for somewhere to put him. His house was quite basic, only containing one small bedroom, a kitchen containing an old stone stove and an open space with a single threadbare chair occupying it. Putting the other man in his bed would admittedly be the most comfortable option on Dan's part but at the same time what would he say to suddenly being dumped in a stranger's bed (albeit in an innocent way). Plus, Phil would have to haul an unconscious body up a set of ladders and he really didn't have the energy to do that. The only other real option, without leaving him on the floor, was the chair. Phil carefully picked up the sleeping man and gently placed him in the chair. It was far too small to properly accommodate Dan's lanky form so his feet hung well over the arm rest and his head lolled over the other but it was significantly better that the straw covered floor.

After laying a blanket over Dan to keep him warm Phil decided to actually get some work done. He headed towards the front of the house and into his shop. The shop was still considerably messy considering he hadn't cleaned up. He had intended to go on a walk with the dogs to pick up some nice wildflowers he had seen growing by the canyon but then of course a certain Daniel had interrupted that. He had been up late last night sorting out daffodils that he had gathered a few days before. The town Phil lived in was quite small with only about thirty houses so he got most of his business from the large manor houses in the countryside. He sold flowers, mainly for decoration in peoples houses but also to a few healers in the local towns who used some of the rare wildflowers he found in the woods around his home in their potions and remedies. As a result he usually had a few set people he had to deliver to a week and the rest of the time he ran his shop. It wasn't very busy but it was calming to sort and prepare the flowers. They all mean things, they have their own language. Not many people know what they mean which can have quite funny consequences. Mrs Harrison had an odd fondness for Queen Anne's lace which probably explained her terrible love life.

His shop was small and crowded. Every corner was crammed full of some small trinket or another. He had buckets of water lined up against the far wall, some containing different plants or flowers whilst some were left to fill up the watering cans. He had a shelf full of small pots of seeds and another dedicated to the more exotic plants he got far outside the kingdom. His favourite was a small cactus which, had it not cost an absolute fortune to get his hands on, he would have really like to have kept. Charlie went to lie down in his favourite spot underneath one of the lower shelves leaving only his scruffy grey tail and lanky feet hanging out. Oscar had other ideas however and decided that at this current moment attempting to lie in his masters lap was the best thing to do which didn't really work when said master was in the process of standing up leading to the poor dog being thrown back down on the floor. With a self pitying whimper Oscar trotted out of the shop and back into the house. Phil rolled his eyes and got back to work. In some ways Dan was a bit like Oscar; annoying, whiny and Phil was awfully fond of him.

After about half an hour of tidying up the shop a young woman with brown-blond hair walked in, the little bell on the shop door ringing cheerfully as she entered, and sat beside Phil at the counter.

"Heya Phil, where have you been all day?" her voice had a rather odd but calming accent.

"Oh hey Hazel, I went for a walk to find some of those nice wildflowers that you and Jack found by the gorge remember but I didn't end up getting any. You'll never guess what happened."

"Ooh I'm intrigued." Hazel said, her eyes sparkling cheekily.

"Well I was at the top of the gorge and suddenly I heard shouting and I looked down and this guy had bolted into the gorge on his horse. Turns out he thought Oscar and Charlie were wolves and was trying to run away from them." Hazel barked in laughter before bending down to Charlie's little spot under the shelves and gave his foot a quick rub which prompted him to stick his muzzle out and give her hand a lick. "You couldn't hurt a fly could you boy." Hazel giggled, "Anyway what happened to this man."

"Well he's not from around here so I offered him a place to stay while he got sorted out. His horse is pretty knackered, I should probably take it to Mr Biggs to get it checked over." Phil said with a shrug.

"Ay it's not like you to invite some random fella into your home, is he a looker?" Phil raised his eyebrows questioningly at Hazel but couldn't quite disguise the grin on his face.

"I wouldn't say he's bad looking. He is a bit lazy though. I offered to give him a piggy back and then he actually fell asleep on me. I walked with him on my back for an entire mile!"

"Why would you offer someone you just met a piggy back?"

"Long story." Phil sighed.

"You know you could take a look at his horse yourself, save you paying the stable-hand for it." Phil let out a nervous chuckle and scuffed his feet on the ground.

"Well I don't really know that much about horses I'm sure it would be better to ask a professional, just to make sure it is still healthy. I'm not sure what Dan would do if he lost it. He won't be able to pay for a new one and I cant see him getting a job round here." Hazel let out a sigh and brought her hand to her forehead.

"Please don't tell me you're still afraid of horses, its been like four years!" Phil raised his hands in defence.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry I just don't trust their legs."

"Whatever," Hazel replied, her tome bored, "What if your little crush does decide to stay, you could offer him a job as you assistant?" Phil scoffed at this.

"Yeah right, as if I'd give him a job. I've told you, he's lazy. Besides i don't need an assistant , I've been managing fine myself ever since I opened up and that's not going to change just because some pretty boy has turned up." Hazel let out a defeated sigh.

"Why do you always have to be so stubborn? it wouldn't hurt to let at least one person in. I know you have secrets and like to keep to yourself but if you really like this Dan then maybe you should do something about it instead of trying to drive him away."

"Hazel we have this conversation every time some one new comes into town that i take a slight interest in. You know I can't make friends let alone have a boyfriend. It's too risky, what if they find out? What if they make me go back." Phil stresses, anger creeping into his voice.

"Fine, whatever. Do what you want, you'll regret letting him go in the end, you always do. As much fun as I'm having here I've got places to be so I will see you later." She finished tensely and got up to leave. Just as she was about to open the door she turned around. "Please just give it a go, for me?Good luck with your guy, maybe if you're lucky you might finally get some action." She added with a wink.

Phil stared after her dumbfounded for a few minutes. It wasn't like Hazel to say things like that to him, she was certainly never that forward. Yeah she had tried to push him in the past, maybe she was finally getting sick of him distancing himself from everyone else. Maybe she really did think he had a chance with Dan. No he wouldn't. He was nowhere near Dan's league and besides, he was probably straight anyway, there's no point in even trying. 

Once again Phil had found himself trying to push thoughts of the young man who was currently lying on the sofa away. He didn't like getting to involved in people. He couldn't be found out he just couldn't and talking to as many people as he did already made him vulnerable. He was lucky hazel was so understanding or him or he would have been forced to go back and that wasn't something he ever planned on doing. Dan had to go. He was too much of a risk and leaving him alone in the house was probably a bad mistake. What if he had woken up and had a look round the house and found it. No he wouldn't have, would he? Suddenly a wave of paranoia washed over him and he suddenly felt the urge to rush back into the house and check that Dan was still asleep.

"Calm down Phil." He told himself firmly although there was still a hint of panic in his voice. There was no harm in making sure, right? With one final moment of consideration he headed back into the house, just to put his mind at rest.


	6. Chapter 6

Dan woke up sprawled across an oddly lumpy sofa. His back hurt from the position he was in and hiss feet dangled over the end. His first thought was that he had somehow managed to fall asleep in the library, it had happened before, though he didn't know of any of the library sofas to be this uncomfortable. Everything in the Serultrian royal palace was of the highest quality and expense. He shivered and tried to adjust himself so his arms were pressed against his body. This too was odd for the palace as it was always kept nice and warm. There were fireplaces in all the rooms and they were kept burning through pretty much all of autumn and winter. The queen had always told him it was because she didn't want anyone to get sick and Dan could see why. Getting sick was a dangerous thing, even with all the wealth of the kingdom and the best doctors there are any small thing such as the flu could potentially kill him. He remembered as a child he used to be friends with the palace butler, Roland. He was nice to talk with and would always sneak Dan cake when nobody else was watching. Dan had always remembered him as being quite old but thinking about it he couldn't have been older than forty. His parents had told him that the butler had retired but Dan new differently. Roland had come in one day, complaining of a sore throat. Nothing more than a common ailment, but the queen had freaked and ordered him to be put in quarantine. He had just told Dan it was because a cough could spread, and the queen didn't want to get sick. Dan had laughed at this and told Roland to get well soon. The butler had just smiled weakly at him and given him a pocket watch, "keep it safe" he had said. Dan never saw Roland again and later learned that a pleurodynia epidemic had spread throughout the kingdom. He wasn't a doctor he didn't know what it was, but he did know that the first signs were a headache, chest pains, and a sore throat. He still had that pocket watch; it reminded him to be careful.

Dan shivered again, he was cold. He let out a yawn and stretched himself outwards, ignoring the discomfort of the hard chair he was lying in. he let out a groan when he felt nothing beside him to protect himself from the cold but his eyes remained closed as he was unwilling to let go of the sleep he had been enjoying so much.

"Hey Dan, fancy anything to eat?

Dan's eyes shot open and he sat up abruptly. Instead of the neat rows of books and familiar wooden book cases he had expected to see his eyes were met with a dim room. The last remnants of daylight were streaming in through a grubby window on the far side of the room, casting orange light across the straw covered floor. The walls seemed to be made of large stones piled on top of each other, much like a dry stone wall, and light also filtered in through some of the cracks where part of the rock had crumbled away. The sofa was positioned in front of a small, unlit fireplace. Looking at it looked like it had not been used in a while, which surprised Dan. Despite it being spring it was freezing a surely it would have been well used during the winter. He couldn't see this old place keeping in heat very well.

Dan twisted his head to where the voice had come from. His eyes widened as he realized where he was. His face flushed red in embarrassment. Clearly his little escapade from the palace and night in the woods had muddled with his brain because was having serious trouble remembering how he got here. Had he really fallen asleep on Phil's back? Phil must have been quite tired at the end of it; maybe it was a little mean, oops? Dan shook his head and looked around again. He had never been inside a commoner's house before. It was smaller than he expected, and a lot more basic. His family had always told him about how the people of Serultria had the best lifestyle out of any of the kingdoms and the only reason their taxes were so high was because they were so well off. Judging by this house however, that may not be the case. The house was very different in the fact that despite there being a fair amount of space, there want really much in it. The wooden door lay in the right corner, with a mall table to the left of it with a few bits and bobs on it as well as a hook from which hung a thin coat and a scarf. To the left was a ladder which lead up to a platform that rested on the point where the wall and bottom of the roof met, creating a sort of makeshift floor. On top were a small bed and a cupboard that presumably held clothes. It was very different from the palace that's for sure; everything was either made out of wood or stone and left looking quite natural, whereas most things in the palace were inlaid by gold or painted to look that way.

Dan looked back over to where Phil was. He was standing in a separate room that contained a small table with a few mismatched chairs surrounding it. There was another fire which was lit and had an iron kettle suspended above it. There were a few open cupboards, most were quite empty but some held a few cabbages or some eggs. Phil was stood over a basic stove attempting to get it lit. Unfortunately, it seemed the most he could achieve was to burn his hand.

"Well if you want anything I'm afraid it's going to have to be cold, I can't get this dam thing to work." He grumbled unhappily, cradling his burnt hand. Dan slowly stood up, grimacing as his joints popped and rubbed his eyes. He was starving and really needed a drink, but for some reason he felt quite ill and food didn't really seem that appealing. Perhaps it was stress of this whole ordeal, or maybe how nice Phil was being to him. He felt bad thinking that Phil lived this simple life and probably worked hard for it whilst Dan was used to living a glamorous life with anything he wanted just because of who he was born as. He'd never seen it as that way before having been sheltered within the confines of the palace. If it only took seeing one person outside of that environment to change his views how would he feel when he saw a whole town or city? Whenever he had visited anywhere beyond the Capital City he had always been kept within the safety of a carriage, never seeing past the cheering crowds and rich houses of the people they stayed with. Dan squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed them harshly to clear his head. He really shouldn't be having such deep thoughts when he was this tired. Maybe this is why his mother didn't want him to leave the palace. It makes you think of things you never cared about before.

"Um Dan?" Phil asked, waving his hand in front of Dan's face, "You didn't answer and you've been stood there for like ten minutes so I made you dinner." He set down a plate full of some sort of viscous brown soup in it. To be honest Dan had absolutely no idea what it was but he was too hungry to care. To be fair it wasn't that bad, it might have been beef? No actually beef is quite expensive, so pork?

"Actually it chicken." Phil said with a giggle and Dan realised he had spoken out loud.

"It's nice thank you." Dan said with a grimace, the soup tasting a bit less appealing as his hunger diminished.

"You know its ok to say you don't like it, even I can admit it's disgusting. I'm not a very good cook." Dan snorted through a spoonful of food, at least they and one thing they had in common.

"I would have thought a handsome fellow such as you would have a lovely wife by now to cook for you." Dan said with a wink. Phil blushed and shrugged his shoulders.

"Women aren't really my forte."

"How so?" Dan asked curiously. Phil just shrugged again.

"Bad experiences." Suddenly Dan found himself enthralled, he'd always been one for gossip.

"Ooh do tell." He said with a little too much enthusiasm.

"I literally met you this morning. What makes you think I will tell you all of my romantic failures?" Phil replied with a scoff.

"Oy don't scoff at me, anyway it's just what friends do isn't it?" Dan said, giving the most 'you are my friend tell me everything' smile he could. Suddenly Phil's face went blank.

"We're. . friends?" He said uncertainty. Dan furrowed his eye; why did Phil act like that was such a bad thing?

"Well yeah I guess. I mean we don't really know each other but I can see us being friend in the future maybe . . ." Dan trailed off at the end.

"Yeah yeah I get you." Phil said with a forced smile. "It's just I don't really have friends."

Suddenly Dan felt quite sorry for Phil, maybe he just wasn't good at meeting new people, like him.

"Hey it's ok; I don't really have any friends either. You don't have to be lonely."

"I'm not lonely," Phil answered becoming frustrated, "It's just that friends and people you care about are a burden and I don't see any reason to put that sort of stress upon myself. I would much rather stay here alone where the only problems I have to care about are my own." Dan frowned.

"I didn't see you as being such a cynical person."

"I'm usually not but this is not a conversation I want to have, especially with someone who is basically a stranger." Phil said tiredly.

"Well can't you just make an exception for me; I would really like to get to know you better." Phil sighed and nodded his head slowly.

"Ok, but only because you're staying here and I don't fancy staying with someone I don't really know the whole time." Dan smiled happily and reached up to give Phil a hug which the other man hesitantly returned.

"I'm betting you don't have much money and I can't really afford to feed the both of us so you are going to have to do some work for me." Phil said seriously. Dan nodded quickly.

"Yeah ok whatever you want." Dan couldn't blame Phil for his guest needing to pull his eight. As long as it was nothing too physical or something that required actual skill he could probably do it.

"Ok come with me." Phil said leading him out of a door to his left. Dan followed eagerly, having not properly seen outside since he had been asleep when they had arrived. Instead however, of emerging outside he found himself in a small cosy shop surrounded by all sorts of pretty flowers and vases. Dan found himself looking round in delight. They looked just like the ones that his mother was so keen on covering the castle in. Maybe she got them from here.

"Do you sell to the palace by any chance?" he asked curiously. Phil let out a snort.

"The royal palace of Serultria? Do you even know where we are? The trip would last days. Besides the trip across the border would be near impossible. Oh, please don't tell me you're from Serultria." Dan's eyes widened.

"I'm not in Serultria? I must have crossed the border at night I dint realise how far I'd come. Where am I?"

"You're in Solmorta of course. Oh, god if anybody finds you here we are both so dead!"

"maybe if I just stay in here I'll be ok?" Dan said uncertainly.

"No! It will not be ok!" Phil snapped," They'll find you, they always do. Oh, for god's sake of all the bloody people I had to find in that godforsaken forest it had to be a Serultrian didn't it."

"I don't see why your so upset." Dan said angrily.

"Well its only because if anybody finds out we'll both loose our heads!"

"Well I got over the border fine last night, it shouldn't be too hard to do it again, right?" Dan said shakily.

"The borders are too heavily guarded, it was a miracle you made it over the first time and for some reason there have been an increase in security, don't know why though." Dan paled. He knew why. Maybe if he just walked up to one of the guards and told him who he was he would be escorted home. He would have failed to accomplish anything but at least he would be well, alive. He began to pace up and down franticly.

"If it weren't for this bloody war then this wouldn't even have been a problem." He muttered angrily. Suddenly Phil's eyes shot up.

"what did you say?

"What nothing." Dan said, guiltily shaking his head. Phil eyes narrowed.

"You know about the war, don't you?" Phil said pointing his finger at Dan. "Nobody is supposed to know about that unless they are some really high up official. Wait, are you a spy?" Phil asked stepping back from Dan wearily.

"What? no!" Dan said shaking his head franticly, "Why do you know then?"

"I have reasons." Shifting he weigh from one foot to the other uncomfortably, "Stop dodging the question, why do you know?" Dan just stood back and shrugged.

"I have my reasons too. If you tell me, I'll tell you that's the deal."

"Well unfortunately you are going to have to live in ignorance then." Phil snapped.

Dan let out a sigh. He guessed his backup plan to get Phil to fall for him wasn't going to happen which was sort of sad as he had grown to like the other man. He let out another sigh, this one in frustration. Why did he always seem to have the most rotten luck. Why was luck so bad? Seriously though Ethel must have been moving a lot faster than he though and Phil was right when he said the borders were near impassable. Dan guessed it must have been some cruel twist of fate but shook of the idea. He didn't believe in fate. Suddenly tears began to well up in his eyes. Why had he left home? It was such a stupid idea and now he's going to die because of it. Why couldn't he just have ignored that stupid impulse. It would have saved him so much pain and now possibly his life. Dan was scared. It was something that was sort of hard to admit with him because he could usually pass it off as feeling a little under the weather or just a natural reaction for danger but this time he was bawling his eyes out and there was no way to hide it.

"Hey hey shush." Phil said softy, wrapping his arms around Dan. Dan melted into his embrace, sobbing into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he whispered sniffling, "I'm just, I'm just a bit scared."

"Ok well how about we get you cleaned up a bit and by the time your horse has recovered security might have gone down a bit and we can smuggle you back into Serultria. Wait, your horse doesn't have a Serultrian brand, does it?" Dan's face when a bit pale.

"Um I guess it does." He said shakily. Phil started to tap his hand against the counter of his shop.

"I hope to god the stable hand doesn't recognise it or we are both dead." He said, his face basically green by now. "Right just get back inside the house and well talk about this tomorrow. For the mean time just stay out of sight, let's just hope for the best." Dan nodded hesitantly. He had a bad feeling about this but right now there was nothing much else to do. He really needed Louise's advice right now.


	7. Chapter 7

A week had passed since Phil had found out about Dan's country of origin. Dan had simply stayed hidden and they were yet to be found out, except for hazel of course. She was one of the only people Phil could trust. They had both sworn to secrecy as both Dan and Phil's lives probably depended on it but the worry that someone, anyone could find out still plagued him and his sleep was staring to suffer. Luckily Mr Briggs (the stable hand) had not recognised the brand on Ethel although he had inquired about it origin to which Phil made up some vague and probably unconvincing story about a desperate farmer and wearied traveller that probably didn't make sense but the stable hand just accepted it. Phil had travelled to the border twice during the week, trying to find a time when he could perhaps smuggle Dan past the guards when they went looking but it seemed that with every day that passed there were more and more guards. It wasn't just on this border either. There had been rumours all around the village that Serultria had pretty much cut itself off from all neighbouring kingdoms. It seemed like something terrible must have happened there to warrant all this extra security but nobody knew what it was. I could have something to do with the war but Phil was rarely informed about such things anymore, having cut off practically everybody who knew about it. It wasn't his place anymore and the mere knowledge of what was going on was a danger in itself.

That brought the question on how did Dan know. He had guessed that he was a son of a noble or rich merchant but not so high up that he knew. Nobody knew. That was the one rule that this war had. If the general population found out, then Both kingdoms would be doomed. Solmorta especially since the mostly mountainous north of the country consisted of non-arable land and the rest was basically forest. The kingdom had made its fortunes through the trading of precious jewels and metals that could be found within the mountains. It had made the many a merchant rich and even the common people got their fair share. When he had lived in the Capital, Pruinae, almost everyone had lived in lavish houses adorned with inlets of gold or silver. He missed the Pruinae, with its marble walls that the Serultrians so often foolishly mistook for ice and great castle. He missed the orchards that lay beyond the light and how they looked basked in the shadows of the great mountains. He even missed the people strolled down the streets with their head held high and the vendors who would wish them good day. Yes, so most of the Pruinae inhabitants were a little stuck up but the majority of them were great people, just a little proud. The problem was that their pride had been the cause of this war, the war that had caused him to flee from the home he missed so much home in cowardice. He shouldn't have left, he knew that much and now he could never face the shame of returning, and the fear of what he would have to do.

Phil groaned and rolled out of bed. He had some deliveries to do today and since he didn't really feel like walking three miles to the manor house he was supposed to be taking a rather large arrangement of flowers to he had opted to take Ethel. Phil had never bought his own horse, either being too scared or too broke to buy one. Unfortunately, the riches of the capital did not quite extend to the further reaches of the kingdom and small villages such as the one he lived in had to work hard in order to avoid starvation. The old blacksmith would always tell tales of how great the village used to be before Serultria cut off trading rights with them. To the common people the sudden diversion of goods traffic was not only confusing but also devastating to those who relied on it. It was true though that before the war goods would have to travel through the village, bringing with them business and wealth. Since all that had stopped however the village had all but fallen into financial ruin. Most people had simply moved away, opting for a better life in the wealthier parts of Solmorta but a few had stayed. The few patches of farmland where trees had been cleared in order to make way for crops brought food and the wealthy Solmortans that occupied the quiet manor houses provided a small amount of business. Travelers in this part of the kingdom were rare and the only visitors were the occasional merchants who travelled between settlements trading goods. This made Dan's arrival, should it be found out, far more dangerous if anybody found out. Although this close to the border was mostly cut off from the main governing body of the kingdom there were still plenty of guards around to patrol the borders and the villagers had grown weary of newcomers.

Phil leant over the side of his platform to check on Dan. The younger man was fast asleep snoring on Phil's sofa. At first, he had attempted to claim Phil's bed, claiming that he should have it in order to recover from his night out in the forest but Phil had firmly disagreed. That bed was his and nobody was sleeping in it but him. This had caused a lot of grumbling on Dan's part but seeing as Phil was still technically keeping alive he didn't argue again. Phil quickly got changed and slid down the ladder, smiling quite happily to himself when he nailed the landing. The thump his feet made when they hit the floor was enough to stir Dan and he opened his eyes groggily.

"Hey sleeping beauty." Phil said cheerfully, ruffling the sleepy man's hair. Dan let out a groan as he fumbled the brown mop that rested on his head, attempting to flatten it out. Dan had persistently pestered Phil to tell him how he got his hair so straight and dyed it but Phil would never tell. Dan probably just though he was being mean but in all honestly, he though Dan's curly brown hair was cute. The crush he had developed on the younger man was certainly not being helped by the fact that he couldn't leave the house. All the time he spent in his home was now spent with him. The fact that Dan also now had to borrow his clothes also made it increasing difficult to hide his silent longing. He wasn't saying that he liked the fact that Dan was wearing his clothes but then again that would be lying. Another problem was that Phil's house only consisted of one room. It was alright for Dan because once Phil went up into his bedroom he couldn't be seen from the floor but as soon as Phil stood up he could see everything except what was directly below him. While that not seem that bad Dan had a habit of getting dressed painstakingly slowly directly in Phil's line of view and Phil was finding it increasingly difficult to look away.

Phil reached into one of the kitchen draws and pulled out a pair of glasses. He didn't tend to wear them because they made him look super nerdy and his brother had always teased him about them as a child but he had to put the finishing touches on an incredibly delicate bouquet today and he couldn't really do that when all he can see is a multi-coloured blur. He was reluctant to wear them around Dan in case he laughed as well but in this scenario, he couldn't really help it. He slid them on and tuned back around to Dan. He'd never actually clearly seen Dan's face and he was stunned. His eyes were so much clearer and pretty than he'd thought. They were a lovely warm colour and the shined brightly even in his groggy state. He had a dimple that Phil had been unable to see before and Phil had to hold back a coo when he noticed that the freckles next to his mouth made his dimple look like a sad face. Dan's hair was also curlier than Phil thought. It was a lovely brown too, he couldn't see why Dan wanted to change it. Sure, he had changed is hair colour but that's only because he's ginger which is not a good colour to be when it comes to being teased.

"You look really hot with glasses on you know." Dan blurted out, turning a tomato shade of red as soon as he'd realised what he had said. "I mean you look good um bro?"

Phil burst into a fit of laughter as Dan continued to stutter over his words.

"Hey its ok. To be fair you are far more good-looking than I thought now that I can see clearly." He added with a cheeky wink, though it was less of a wink, more of an awkward blink. Dan looked taken aback and maybe Phil had gone a little too far but then again, his crush had just called him how.

"Um I've got some work to do now so I'll be of. I'm having to use Ethel I hope that's ok with you." Dan just nodded awkwardly which Phil took as a yes and left hurriedly.

Although Phil was usually afraid of most horses he could still ride them pretty well having been trained as a kid. Ethel was quite mild mannered and during his stay in Phil's shed his carer had grown quite fond of him. Since he hadn't been wearing a saddle when Dan had been riding him Phil had had to borrow one from Mr Briggs. After tacking up the old horse Phil popped back into his shop to get the flowers. Lady Waters had recently fallen ill and the lord off Water manor had requested a lavish bouquet of flowers to give her as a get-well gift. He had paid Phil generously so Phil had pulled all the stops to make sure it was as lovely as possible. He didn't often dye flowers as it made them wilt much quicker but Lord Waters had specifically asked for purple and blue and there were only certain flowers you can get in that colour so Phil had had to give in. The bunch contained an assortment of different flowers, all in a pastel blue and violet arrangement; there were geraniums, lilies, roses, forget-me-nots, bluebells and countless other blooms all tied together with plaited reed fashioned into a bow. Phil hoped that the Waters would appreciate this since he spent so long on it but they were a picky bunch.

Making sure the flowers were securely fastened to the saddle Phil hopped onto Ethel and urged him into a canter. He rode through the village occasionally being greeted by the odd person. Pretty soon thy came to the outskirts where Phil slowed down Ethel to a walk. All of the houses here were empty and abandoned, previously inhabited by those who had depended on the trade coming in from Serultria. In the distance, there was a crumbling stone mill that had long gone out of business, the baker now getting flour from a merchant that came once a week. Phil thought it was a great shame that this was bustling village had been reduced to what it was now but as much as he enjoyed admiring the desolate houses they sort of gave him the creeps so he quickly urged Ethel on, following a small winding road to the south. The sky was grey and cloudy, casting a dim white light on the surrounding forest. Phil looked up and preyed it wouldn't rain until he got back, having forgotten his coat in a rush to leave the house. The path to Water manor was dark and winding but pretty soon the large brick house came into view. As far as Manors go it wasn't really that impressive but it was still larger that about half of the villager's houses combined.

He urged Ethel through the large iron gates and into the large courtyard. He dismounted quickly and untied the bouquet from the horse's saddle. Phil jumped as the large main doors opened with a creak and Lord Waters came out to meet him. He was fairly odd as Lords go, being an avid inventor and lover of books. He had dark skin and eyes with frizzy black, unkempt hair that still somehow managed to look quite smart.

"Ah Phillip you have my flowers I see. I must say they are beautiful I'm sure Martha will love them thank you." He said cheerfully, inspecting the bouget carefully. Suddenly his eyes turned to Ethel.

"Say I didn't know you had a horse."

"Oh, he isn't mine. He belongs to a friend of mine that visiting." Phil replied nervously.

"Well if it helps you get here on time its great isn't it. Now I must say these flowers are wonderful and to be honest I don't think I paid you enough, here." Waters handed Phil a small wad of notes. Phil stared at it in amazement. There was probably enough there to last him several months.

"I can't sir its too much." Phil said in bewilderment, attempting to hand the money back.

"No no I insist." Lord Waters responded cheerfully, "Now on your way I'm guessing you have better things to be doing than standing around chatting to me."

Phil put the money in his pocket and hopped back into Ethel's saddle.

He thanked Lord Waters again before turning and setting back home at a canter, too pleased with himself at the extra money to notice the Lords eyes trailing after the branding on Ethel's rump.


	8. Chapter 8

When Phil returned, he was much more cheerful than Dan had expected. After their rather awkward flirt earlier Dan had busied himself with attempting to give the dogs a bath which is not easy considering one was so large that Dan had serious trouble keeping him still and the other seemed incapable of keeping still, not to mention Phil didn't even own a bathtub. If they wanted a wash they simply had to pour a bucket of water over themselves and hoped it suffice. Dan had filled a bucket and was attempting to get Oscar to stand in it but all he had accomplished was spilling water all over the floor. Oscar and Archie were so hyperactive. Phil should walk them more often, then again, his mind had probably been elsewhere lately. Talking of walking the dogs. . .

"Phiiiiil." Dan wined as Phil opened the door.

"Daaaaan." Phil responded with a smirk. Dan felt a smile begin to crawl its way onto his face but it was halted suddenly. His mood immediately darkened when he remembered having the exact same conversation with Louise not two weeks ago. He looked down at the floor guiltily. He really should have taken her advice. It would have saved him so much trouble in the long run.

"Dan, did you want something? What's wrong?" Phil asked, concern lacing his voice.

"Oh, it's nothing," Dan said quietly shaking his head to rid all thoughts of home. "Actually, though I was thinking that it may be a good idea to take the dogs for a walk. I think they're getting a little hyperactive." He added with a laugh. On que Oscar raced over to them and jumped up into Phil's arms. Phil seemed to consider the idea.

"Well I know they need a walk but are you sure that you should come, I don't really want anyone seeing you. It could be dangerous." Dan let out a heavy sigh.

"I've been stuck in this stupid house for over a week surly a little walk won't hurt us. You said that the villagers don't go into the forest anyway so we shouldn't get caught." Phil still looked doubtful but then his face lit up.

"I know! If we take Ethel and some supplies you need for the journey we could go to the border and if there's no guards around you can go back to Serultria." He said excitedly

Dan frowned. He knew he was a burden to Phil because Phil did have to pay for him and what not so he supposed the other man would be glad to rid of him but it seemed a bit mean that Phil was so excited about it. From what Dan, had gathered Phil's only real friend appeared to be a lovely girl called hazel who lived in the next village and popped in to say hello every so often. Dan would have thought that Phil would have been glad to have some company. Well unless this hazel was a little more than just a friend, maybe Phil just wanted some *cough* alone time with her. But then Phil had quite obviously flirted with Phil on more than one occasion so that probably wasn't the case. Speaking of flirting, Phil's odd complements and occasional seductive nature were really starting to keep Dan up at night. While Phil may have started out as his back-up plan the older man was really starting to grow on him. He was clever and witty, not to mention fucking gorgeous. Ok so Phil had already let some of his secret guilty thoughts become not so secret guilty thoughts but who could blame him when Phil turned around wearing those glasses. Glasses were never something he had found particularly attractive in people before, they reminded him of the castle elders who helped govern the council of Serultria. They were a bloody boring lot. Phil however looked so good in glasses. They framed his face well, giving much more of a sophisticated look but also making him look quite dorky, which was, in Dan's opinion, a very good look on him.

The truth was that Dan often felt a bit like a teenage girl around Phil. He just didn't know what to feel. On one hand Phil was insanely cute, hot and smart all at the same time and Dan would have absolutely no problems dating him but on the other hand, Phil was a Solmortan. Bringing a man home would be bad enough for his parents, but bringing home one of their mortal enemies, it was a recipe for disaster. The main problem was that he had already grown quiet attached to Phil and honestly the idea of never seeing him again hurt, because that's what would happen. Dan would cross over the border, wave Phil goodbye, probably get caught, be taken back to the palace and be forced to marry the countess. The war wouldn't end and Dan wouldn't be able to leave. If that was the case, then this could very well be the last day he ever got to spend with Phil. Dan hated this, why did he have to get lost, why did, by some miracle, he manage to get over the border without getting caught and why oh why did he have to run into the oh so perfect Phil who just happened to be one of his mortal enemies. Dan thought back to a book he'd read in the library once 'Romeo and Juliet'. The immortal tale of two lovers separated by family hatred, well that's what the blurb said anyway. Ok so the feud was between two families and not between two countries and they had both fallen madly in love at first sight rather than just developing a little crush but Dan could force it to relate. Dan thought he was totally Juliet in this situation. He had defied his family just like she did and was even engaged to someone she didn't love, just as he was. The problem was that Dan couldn't see Phil as being Romeo. Romeo was ditzy and love-struck, very quick to make decisions without thinking much of the consequences while Phil was quite reserved and thought decisions through. Maybe it was a good thing however, that Phil was not the Romeo to Dan's Juliet because they both ended up meeting a rather unfortunate end.

Dan reluctantly agreed to Phil's plan and after packing a few supplies into Dan's old satchel, they headed back into the woods with Ethel and the dogs. The sun was still reasonably high in the sky although with winter fast approaching the days were getting shorter so they didn't have a whole lot of time. I was quite gold outside so Dan had wrapped himself up in one of Phil's old jumpers. It was scratchy and old, but oddly comforting. Having decided it would be quicker to simply ride to the border they had both mounted Ethel and were heading through the trees at a fast walk. Dan never really took much notice of the countryside when he was in the palace. It was always something he could just look out of a window and go 'oh there it is' and be on his way. Now however, he missed the open fields and meadows. The only thing that was out here was endless trees. Despite the dark cloud over his mind that started to rain every time he thought of losing Phil, a small ray of sunshine filtered through when he thought of home. He knew that once he was back in Serultria he would have to return to the palace, having no more money and no place to stay, but at least there he would be safe. You never know, maybe his disappearance had scared his parents into cancelling his engagement. He could only hope. Maybe Phil could come with him, and Dan could marry him after all. In all honesty, Dan was getting far too ahead of himself. They weren't even dating for god's sake and, although Dan was pretty sure his feelings towards Phil were reciprocated, they might not be. He could always ask, to be fair he didn't have much to lose. It wasn't as if he would ever see Phil again if he said no.

"Will you marry me?"

Phil almost fell off the horse.

"Excuse me?", he spluttered, attempting to regain his balance. Dan took a deep breath.

"WellitsjustIreallyreallylikeyouandI'mnevergoingtoseeyouagainandwhenIgohometheyregoingtomakememarrysomeoneIdontwanttoandargh!!!!" Dan rambled.

"Ok ok calm down. Tell me again, just with spaces this time please." Phil said soothingly. Dan took another shaky breath.

"It's just that I belong to an important family and they want me to marry a girl and I'm gay and she's horrible so I ran away and met you and now I think I've got a massive crush on you because you're funny and hot and I might never get to see you again. It's just that I was thinking that maybe you could come back to Serultria with me and we could get married, we wouldn't have to tell anyone you were from Solmorta, but now I realise its stupid because you have a life here and you only met me a week ago. I just really, really like you and I don't want to lose you which is stupid because we're barely even friends and you probably don't even like me." By this point, Dan was in floods of tears, "I'm sorry I shouldn't have asked but I just really want to go home but if I do without someone to marry I'll be forced to marry that wretched countess and I can't oh please I just can't."

Phil Stopped Ethel and dismounted, offering Dan a hand down which he took wearily.

"You like me?" He said in a meek voice.

"Well yeah that's what I just sai . ." Suddenly Dan was cut off because Phil's lips were on his and he was in heaven. Kissing isn't what books make it out to seem, they describe fireworks and rainbows and kisses tasting of cinnamon and strawberry but it's not really like that at all. Kisses are an act of intimacy and in most cases an act of love or at least budding love. Dan didn't taste cinnamon or strawberry but he did taste Phil and that was all the wanted. Phil's hands were on his waste so Dan brought his hands up to cup Phil's face. They broke apart giggling.

"You know I've wanted to do that since I met you." He admitted with a smirk, "Even if you are a lazy bones."

"Oy shut up you." Dan giggle, lightly punching him in the arm. Suddenly a serious expression clouded Phil's face.

"You want to get married? I mean I wouldn't really mind but we only just met and my papers say Solmortan."

"Papers?" Dan asked, a puzzled look on his face, "What are they?"

"Do you not have them in Serultria?" Phil asked in disbelief, "Here everyone has them, you're supposed to carry them around with you at all time but people around here don't really bother, nobody checks anyway, unless they're looking for spies."

"Is that why you were so desperate to keep me hidden." Dan asked curiously. Phil nodded.

"I didn't really fancy anybody looking at mine they . . ." He shifted on the spot uncomfortably, "Well they say some things I'd rather nobody knew."

"Is that why you don't like making friends?" Phil nodded guiltily.

"Will you tell me?" Phil's face went blank, as if he were debating it inside his head. Finally, he nodded slowly.

"Yeah ok I'll tell you, but not out here." He replied, looking around nervously," As for your other question if it's really what you want then I shall say yes but I would suggest waiting until you have heard what I need to tell you."

A grin spread across Dan's face. Phil had said yes! What however, was Phil so afraid about telling him. Was Phil a serial killer or something. Dan couldn't see him being the type. He would have to just wait and find out. He cleared his throat.

"I guess we should head back to the house then, I want to know what you have to say." Phil leant in and kissed him once more, "I still plan on marrying you though, don't think you'll be getting out of it." Dan added, wrapping his arms around Phil. Phil smiled against Dan's lips.

"May I enquire what surname I'll be getting then fiancée?" he asked once they pulled away. Dan chuckled in response.

"Howell, I guess, unless you want to conjoin it with yours." Phil shook his head.

"Howells fine. I don't want anything to do with my family, surname included. You know I'm sure I've heard the name Howell before." Dan froze. Maybe giving Phil his real last name was a mistake . . . then again, he would find put soon enough. Was the reason Phil was being so reluctant to let anybody know who he was because of his family?

"Ok then I say let's head home." Dan said cheerfully.

They quickly mounted Ethel and set off at a canter, dogs sprinting after them. Dan wrapped his arms around Phil's waist and buried his head his new fiancée's shoulder. Perhaps asking Phil to marry him was a tad drastic but it was far better that that wretched countess. They quickly arrived Back at Phil's house but Dan could tell something was wrong. It was quiet, too quiet. Hi brushed it off as nerves and quickly dismounted to follow Phil inside.

He was shocked. The inside of Phil's house had been turned inside out. Books and papers were strewn across the floor and everything had been torn apart. Suddenly there was a guard next to him with a dagger to his throat. There was a man stood in front of him. He was wearing shiny ornate armour with a large purple cloak that hung down to his feet. He had long white hair that hung down to his shoulders. He was shorter than Dan but still managed to look incredibly imposing.

"Ah Phillip, how nice of you to join us, I see you brought your little friend. You know when they told me there was a spy in the village I honestly didn't expect you to be the one to be harbouring him. Then again, I thought you were dead, we all did."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Phil lied.

"Oh shut up, we found your papers you can't hide it and I'm guessing your friend here doesn't have any papers so I guess I'm going to have to kill him."

"Please, I'll do anything, just don't hurt him." Phil begged.

"Oh youre in no position to be making orders, although I gess soon you'll have to be. We gave you a chance last time, to return with honour and you turned it down. I'm afraid this time you won't be that lucky."

Suddenly there was a hand around his throat and Dan couldn't breathe. His vision started to go bleary before fading to black. The last thing he heard before falling unconscious were Phil's desperate cries and a thud and he was knocked unconscious. Dan's last thought was of home and all the mistakes he had made, he'd gotten Phil hurt, maybe he deserved to die.


	9. Chapter 9

"If you found him you were told to bring him back, not kill him!"

"We didn't kill him, just knocked him out."

"The Queen won't be happy."

"Do I look like I give two shits about what the queen says? She'll be too busy doting on her long-lost son to care anyway."

"You're bitter about that, aren't you?"

"I was supposed to be the ruler, not him."

"He is the prince."

"He's a coward."

"So be it. What happened to the other one?"

"The spy? He's in the dungeons where he'll rot, can't kill him though. Straxer thinks he might be useful."

"I doubt it. You better tell the queen, she'll want to see the prince. Take him to the physician; let's hope he wakes up before she comes back."

"If he does."

Phil woke up with a gasp. His entire body ached. He tried to sit up but a wave of agony shot through him immediately. A pained cry ripped from his throat but it sounded distant and hazy.  
"I wouldn't do that again if I were you, it'll hurt." A voice from the other side of the room said with a cruel laugh.  
Phil looked down his body at the restraints holding him down. Small rings of orange energy surrounded his body, stopping him from moving. There were smaller bands keeping his arms and legs fastened down. He tested lifting his arm up but as soon as it came into contact with the band a burning sensation shot through his arm. He hissed in pain and jerked his had away only to be stopped by the band. He'd seen this type of magic before, but never experienced it himself.   
"Orthia?" Phil asked in surprise, "I thought you were dead."  
"Likewise." The figure that had spoken earlier emerged from the corner and into Phil's view. She was taller than he remembered and thinner too. Her once kind eyes had sunken back into her skull and her skin had turned dry and yellow like parchment. These were the symptoms of overuse of magic, something that luckily Phil had been exempt from. There were two types of magic in Solmorta, born and forced. Very few were born with magic however it was a trait that ran in the royal family, it did have its setbacks however because it can only be used in the form given, in Phil's case ice. He was the only one of his immediate family to have been born with magic. Hundreds of years ago, born magic ran in most families but soon it began to disappear, even from the most powerful magic families of all. Phil would probably be the last to carry it, being unable to have children due to his preference of men over women, something his parents had always been ashamed of. Forced magic however, although difficult to master, can take any form the user wants and can be used in many different ways. The problem is that it's like a drug, addictive and destructive. Once you start using it, it is difficult to stop. It gives you a sense of power and invisibility that is difficult to give up and many a King or Queen of Solmorta had found out once they resorted to it after their own magic began to disappear. Born magic was far more powerful but forced was far more dangerous, to both the user and those it was used on.  
"Let me go Orthia, you don't need magic to hold me down I won't run away again." Phil spat angrily, the magic continuing to send shocks of pain down his body. The woman scoffed.  
"Yeah because I' m stupid enough to believe you. You're a coward, you'll run at the first chance you get and though I wouldn't really mind that the queen will kill me."  
Phil paled. Of course, his parents knew he was here but a small part of him had hoped that maybe they hadn't been told. Well if they weren't here then maybe he had a chance to get away before they arrived, he couldn't face seeing them again he just couldn't. They were disappointed in him even before he left what would they be like now that he had betrayed him.

"I can see all of the cogs working in that tiny little mind of yours you know. It's funny to see all the ways you'll try and escape. Don't worry your parents will be here soon, I just need to tell them you've woken up. I bet they'll forgive you, they'll tell you how sorry you are for treating you like they did but they won't mean it. All they want is an heir and since your brother made the admittedly wise decision to abdicate you're the only one left." She sneered. Phil frowned, why did Orthia hate him, so much? He remembered her before he left and she started using magic, she was so nice and understanding. Magic can hurt you and change your appearance but it doesn't turn you cruel, that's something power would bring.

"I swear you didn't used to hate me this much. Well aren't you going to go and get my parents then, seeing as they're going to be so happy to see me?" He snarled in response. If Orthia was going to play bad cop he wasn't going to give in.

"Well you see Philip until your rather untimely return I was first in line for the throne and now you've taken that away from me so I think I'll have a little chat with you." She replied giving him a sickly-sweet smile. Phil let out a snort.

"You can have the throne I don't want it."

"Yeah well that's not how the law works and you can't abdicate considering you're the only child your family has left and I'm merely a nobleman's daughter. I do however want to be Queen and since there is only one way to do that you are going to marry me." Phil looked at the woman in disbelief. He wasn't going to marry her, she must have known that. She knew he was gay there was no way he was going to say yes. What about Dan? Suddenly a wave of nausea swept through Phil. They would have killed Dan when they found him. He was probably dead now, and it was his fault

"Are you fucking mental! There is no way I'm going to marry anybody against my will, and you of all people. You used to be my friend what happened to you?"

"I grew up." She sneered, "Oh and I know the real reason why you won't say yes by the way. You wouldn't want your parents to know you decided to marry a Serultrian now would you. Think of the shame you wound bring upon your family." She said with a smile. Suddenly the binding around his body tightened and he let out a scream of pain.

"Think of what this feels like, think of how much it hurts. Think of how long you can go feeling this sort of pain before it's too much, it's a long time but it happens. Now think of your precious little boyfriend and how much pain he will be in when I use this magic to crush him." She said it so calmly and so clearly it sent shivers down his spine. As suddenly as they had tightened the restraints went slack and Phil let out a long shaky breath. So, Dan was still alive, that was good, but he was in the dungeons, that was bad. If Phil refused Orthia would kill Dan and tell his parents about the whole deal.

Fraternizing with a Serultrian is one crime that was not taken lightly. He was sure that even his own parents would never forgive him, he would be burned. That's what happened to traitors. His hands would be tied with Veteris Cloth (a fabric that prevents the use of magic) and he would be burnt at the stake with all of Perinea watching. But in that case Orthia would become queen when the current monarchs die anyway, being the highest ranking noble in Solmorta. Why did she want to marry him then?

"If you tell my parents about Dan then I'll be executed and you'll be queen anyway, why do you want me to marry you?" He asked, hoarse from screaming.

"So Dan's his name is it, that's interesting. Well Phillip unfortunately as I am not a direct descendant of the royal line I have to wait until your parents die before I can take the crown but if I marry you it will a lot quicker."

"What do you mean?" Phil asked, a lump forming in his throat.

"You've been asleep for longer than you realise my friend. As soon as you arrived back here, a good week ago, your parents stared laying plans to get you coronated, seems like you aren't the only one who doesn't fancy being head of the mad kingdom. Under the leadership of me however I can make this kingdom mean something again, I can make it great. I'll march upon Serultria with all of our armies and we'll claim their weak little kingdom for ourselves. All I must do is get married to you and tomorrow I shall be a Queen. I'm sure you won't mind that much. This liking boys is simply a phase as soon as you get past it you will realise how lucky you are to be with someone like me. We will make such a beautiful couple, everyone shall be in awe of us. Think of what we can achieve together, we can take the eleven kingdoms for ourselves, there is nothing we won't be able to do." She said with a smirk.

"You can think like that but it will never happen, you're having delusions. This is what magic has done to you, it has messed up your mind, can't you see it."

"I can see a new future! I can see what we can become can't you just accept that. I will become the most powerful sorcerer in the world. With your natural powers and my mastered ones there is no monarch that can stand in our way. Together we can destroy them all and return the world to how it used to be. One empire in our control."

"No I won't let you." Phil shouted, struggling in his restraints, wincing as they once again tightened around his arms.

"If you stay no your precious Danny dies and you get burnt and I become Queen, you say yes Dan lives, you live and I become Queen, really which one is the better option."

"But if I say yes I have to lived married to you and I become King." Phil deadpanned.

"You know you really are ungrateful, to anybody else that would be their dream."

Phil looked at Orthia sceptically. Becoming king yes but marrying here. Admittedly when she was a child she had been quite beautiful; long black hair, tanned skin, dark eyes. Now however, the magic had started to destroy her. She looked so much older than her age, magic was going to be the end of her. Suddenly footsteps echoed up the hallway outside.

"Shit that's the queen. Right screw what I said before, say yes and tell her you are getting married or I kill the spy right now." Orthia spat her eyes darkening. Phil struggled against the bands of energy but soon fell back in exhaustion. For the first time in his life he felt utterly helpless. If this was how Dan had felt, then no wonder he ran away. He couldn't lose Dan, it sounded stupid because they had barely even known each other for that long but he didn't want to be responsible for someone who had soon grown to be one of his best fiends (after Hazel of course). Speaking of Hazel what had happened to her? He had been so wrapped up in keeping Dan a secret that he had failed to pay any attention to his best friend. Was she safe? What happened to her? Does she know what happened? He was guessing the whole village did by now. Soldiers hardly ever turn up, let alone to arrest people. And oh, his little florists. It had probably been burnt to the ground by now, he couldn't believe he'd been so happy to leave it when Dan offered to take him over the border. He had no idea how much he' miss it when he was gone. He wished they had made that decision a day earlier though, then they would have left in time at least. He didn't even know how the guards had found out about him. Was it Lord Waters? Had he recognised Ethel's branding? No, he had seemed so nice. Anyway, what had happened to Ethel, to his dogs? He hoped to high heaven they were being cared for and they were ok. Maybe they would have gone to Hazel, they were smarter than they looked.

"Are you going to make your decision or do I need to send a note to the executioner?" Orthia said impatiently as the footsteps continued to approach the door.

"Yes, okay I will marry you just please don't hurt Dan please." He cried as the door opened.

"Recurtio." Orthia hissed. His restraints disappeared and Phil stretched his arms out testingly.

The Queen strode in and quickly rushed to her son's side.

"You're awake." She said in surprise, "Orthia why didn't you tell me."

"I'm sorry ma'am he only just woke. We have had a good talk though, you'll never guess what he has agreed to."


	10. Chapter 10

Wedding bells were ringing all through the city, even managing to penetrate the thick walls of the castle dungeon. Dan sat huddled in the corner of his damp cell, tears rolling down his face. He couldn't believe it. When he arrived, the guards told him everything, who Phil was and where he had been taken. It was odd for them to tell a suspected spy all the details from inside the palace, they were clearly under the impression that he wasn't ever getting out. His cell was right next to the guard room so he could hear all the gossip that went around the castle. In the week, he had been here he had already gotten sick of hearing the endless complaining of Fletcher about his wife. Really that man needs to get a grip and sort out his relationship issues.

He did also however learn things that he would rather not. Like the guards boasting about all the foul things they would like to do to the royal family of Serultria, completely unaware that one of their members was listening in on their conversation. In all honesty, Dan couldn't care less as to what they did to him, at least it would mean being taken out of this dingy cell, either alive or dead. He wondered what the castle looked like on the outside, from what he could tell it was quite big. He didn't quite know how far the dungeons went on for, nor did he know how many people were being kept here but it was always oddly quiet. It could because of the walls but the sound of bells still seeped through. He clamped his hands over his ears in an effort to block out the chiming, the constant reminder of what was happening.

Phil had been awake not five days and already he was getting married, to a woman no less. He supposed that as prince he had the same duties to perform as Dan but even that thought couldn't dull the ache in his chest. Yes, their arrangement had been rather hasty affaire but Dan had sort of been looking forward to it. Phil had always seemed so sweet and kind he couldn't believe he was such a liar. How could such a seemingly lovely person belong to such an awful family. Yes, it was true that Phil had the same duties as Dan did, marrying a nice eligible woman included, but Dan was still a prince and as of tomorrow Phil would be a king. Couldn't he have just waited a little longer before he got married, maybe then he could change the rules, although getting married to a suspected Serultrian spy probably wasn't going to go down well with the royal household.

Dan sighed and leant back against the grey walls of his cell. The icy stone was freezing against his back and his thin summer clothes were doing little to protect him. He wished he'd never left the palace at all, his lovely warm palace with his lovely warm library and his lovely warm bed. No instead he had got himself into a right mess and now he was stuck in a cold, grey dungeon pining for the leader of his greatest enemy. It sounded like a plot from some great Shakespearean tragedy. He wondered what Louise was thinking, she was probably worried sick. Then again, he had been missing for just over three weeks, he was probably assumed dead by now. He would get one hell of a telling off when he got home, if he got home. That assumption had a scarily high likelihood of be made correct in the near future.

Suddenly the heavy door of his cell sung open with a crash and a rather grumpy guard stomped in. Dan let out a squeak of surprise and scrambled to his feet. The guard let out impatient sigh.

"Now for some stupid reason the lady, soon to be Queen, Orthia wants you present at the wedding between herself and Prince Phillip. Why she wants you there I have no idea, especially after your little escapade with his majesty." He muttered angrily.

"Wait what?" Dan asked in disbelief. He could understand at a stretch why Phil might want him their but why his fiancée would ask was a bit odd, especially if she knew about where Dan was from. He hoped to high heaven that Phil hadn't let anything slip about their very brief relationship because it would probably end up in the deaths of both of them. The guard tapped his foot impatiently,

"I haven't got all day kid, you coming or what?" Dan nodded quickly and followed the guard out. He contemplated running but quickly dismissed the idea. The tunnels were dark and cramped, there was nowhere for him to run to. The guard looked back a scowled at him, as though he could read Dan's thoughts.

"Don't even try running, it won't work. I don't care if the prince in fond of you, you are my prisoner and if I want to hurt you I will." He sneered. Dan gulped and let out a shaky 'yes sir'.

He hadn't been awake when he was taken into the dungeon so was quite surprised to find that past the guard room the tunnels widened out and lead up to a vast marble staircase. The steps glittered in the orange torchlight and the ornate banisters cast shadows of flowers and landscapes across them. It seemed unfitting for such a beautiful thing to be leading down to somewhere so cold and hopeless.

"One day these steps will be the last you'll ever climb, well apart from the ones up to the gallows of course." The guard hissed.

"And what a relief it will be, there's no room here for your lot."

It seemed odd to Dan that every single one of the guards here hated Serultria so much. In the palace, hardly any of the guard knew about the war, they were only ever told if the royal family was in direct danger from an attack. Here it seemed everybody knew. Even the maid who came down to give him some dinner had shot dirty glances at him, muttering foul things about his race under her breath. It was clear that here the prejudice against their opposing country was far more deep rooted than back at home. He didn't thing there had been many attacks in Solmorta in the last few years. Had the army been running missions without the royal family's permission? No, they wouldn't dare, right? Dan thought back to all of the long boring meetings he had been forced to endure where his father and the military generals discussed tactics and knowledge against and about the opposing kingdom but that had all changed since Captain Arden had been assassinated it was never quite the same. The new captain of the guard, Captain Pieta, could never really live up to his predecessors. Dan had always thought it was because he was reluctant to continue with the war or simply couldn't be bothered sending soldiers over the border, but what if it was more than that?

"Why do you hate Serultria so much?" Dan asked the guard as he was lead up yet another set of stairs (Seriously how far underground were they?). the ringing of the bells could still be heard faintly in the background but had faded significantly. The noise must be seeping through the air shafts leading down snorted,

"Is that even a question? You of all people should know spy. You burn our crops and threaten our villages, you attack our merchant carts and trading posts. All the time we must tell the people its bandits or unlucky accidents just so we aren't put out by the treaty. Your people have caused famine and fear for years and all the time it goes back to the royal family, they are good and fair but if they want to survive much longer they will have to call of this stupid war or it will kill us all. It is not like me to admit defeat but we have lost and we need to acknowledge that. Your friend the prince made a smart move when he left, soon the people will revolt and every one of the Lester's will end up with their head to the chopping block." He said gravely. Dan reeled back in shock. No, it wasn't his kingdom doing that, his kingdom was playing fair, this stupid guard was obviously just trying to get him riled up, or else he was deeply misinformed.

"Your lying, my kingdom would never do such a thing!" Dan stated firmly. The guard let out a dry laugh.

"I'm Sorry to tell you but your leaders have been lying to you for quite some time or else your concept of 'playing fair' is a lot different from mine." Dan opened to his mouth to protest only for a hand to clasp around his throat, "Don't you dare defend your pathetic little country! I've seen what they have done, who they have killed. I had my son taken away from me when one of your raiding parties crossed the border. They decided they needed food, obviously to naive to bother taking some from their own homes, so decided they would take some from mine. I wasn't home but my wife and son were, they tried to protest so their leader drew his bloodied sword and slaughtered my son where he stood and force my wife to watch. You are nothing but a bunch of self-centred cowards and if I had it my way I would slit your throat as they did his right here." He snarled, dropping Dan to the floor. The young prince brought his hand to his throat, tears welling up from a mixture of what he had just been told and lack of oxygen.

"No, you don't understand!", he rasped desperately as the guard began to haul him back up the steps, "The royal family hadn't approved of any of those missions, we haven't knowing attacked Solmorta in years, please just listen!"

"I told you not to defend them, I'm sure there is a lot going on in the oh so noble royal family that you don't know about. You're only a lowly spy after all." The guard snickered.

"No, no I know everything that goes on in the royal palace, my dad's the king for fucks sake!" Suddenly Dan clamped his hand over his mouth in shock. Oh, shit oh shit oh shit what had he done!? He would be executed that's for sure, straight away. The guard looked down on him with a patronising glare before suddenly his eyes widened and he dropped his hold of Dan as though his hand had just been burned.

"I knew I recognised you you little brat! You're prince Daniel, the one who went missing a few weeks ago. Did the prince know about that? I have to tell the queen, now!" The guard yanked Dan up by the collar and set of at a sprint, dragging the poor prince behind him. Dan cursed to himself. He had gotten both himself and Phil killed now, oh god what was the Queen going to say!? Would he be hanged, burned, decapitated, drowned, ripped apart by wild horses, stabbed? None of them seemed very appealing to Dan at all, if he could just wiggle free from the guard. He tried loosening the shirt he was wearing in an effort to shun the guards grip on his collar but the guard only quickened his pace, knocking Dan off his feet. He was literally being dragged along the floor at this point. Soon the steps ended and the young prince was thrust into a large hall. It was huge with grey stone walls that seemed to go up forever. The floor was polished marble and upon it stood rows and rows of church like pews. There was a strip of red carpet running down the middle, ending at an oddly placed alter at the far end of the hall. Dan gasped, realising he must be in the castle chapel. There was a buzz of people outside the door and maids hurrying round, adjusting flowers and making sure all of the candles were lit telling Dan that the ceremony had not yet taken place.

Suddenly a tall, ginger haired woman clad in a light blue ball gown entered the room, followed by a procession of butlers and servants. She was absolutely covered in fancy jewellery, from sapphire bracelets that adorned her wrists, to enormous diamonds hanging from her neck, even her hair was being held in place by multiple bejewelled clips. The most magnificent however was the crown that sat upon her head. It was silver and seemed to mostly be covered in tiny, blue coloured crystals. Dan came to the conclusion that must be the Queen. Oddly it seemed however, the crown seemed to be one a King would wear, not a queen. Was the king of Solmorta dead? Well it would explain why they were so eager to coronate Phil.

"Your majesty!" the guard called loudly, his voice echoing around the cold walls of the church. The Queen turned to look upon him with icy blue eyes that eerily matched Phil's.

"What do you want Adam, I have got a wedding to prepare for you know!" she said coldly although like Phil there was some warmth to her eyes when she spoke.

"It's this spy your majesty, I have reason to believe he is the crown prince of Serultria!" The Queens eyes narrowed.

"What on earth has given you that absurd id . . .." suddenly se trailed off, hand flying up to her mouth. She inched closer to the prince and Dan lifted his head to meet her eyes. The Queen recoiled in disgust.

"You!" she snarled angrily, "You look just like your evil skiving father! I should have you burnt!" suddenly however her face paled. "They'll know you're here, they'll come for us, we'll be killed!" There was definite fear in her voice and Dan shuddered at the fear his kingdom had induced upon this family.

"Cancel the wedding! Bring Phillip to me! Now!" Queen ordered, walking out of the room. Dan was pulled after her by Adam until they had entered into the main area of the castle. They came to a long room containing only a huge oak dining table and some chairs. Dan was roughly thrust into the chair and a pair of iron shackles attached to his wrists. The Queen took a seat reasonably far away from Dan and so they sat in silence. Dan felt a tear trickle down his face, he wanted to brush it away but his hands were still bound behind the chair. he didn't want show weakness in front of his enemy but he was just so scared and now the tiny waterdrop that sat upon his cheek showcased that.

Eventually the silence was broken by footsteps outside and Phil was dragged in by two guards struggling and kicking. One of the guars bent down to put a pair of shackles on Phil but the minute his hand brushed Phil the guard jumped back, howling in pain and cradling his hand. The shackle that he had managed to fasten to Phil's wrist was suddenly covered in a layer of frost before shattering into a hundred different pieces, as if it were merely made of glass. Dan looked on in awe, he had heard rumours that the Lester's had ice powers but had never really believed it until now.

"Phillip calm down at once!" the Queen demanded. Reluctantly Phil stood up straight, looking his mother in the eye. Dan managed to shuffle round a bit so that he could Phil properly now the other man wasn't moving around. He noted that the guards were still keeping their distance. He looked so much different than before, his slightly wild hair had been calmed although it still resembled the same style as before. His skin was even paler than before now that all the dirt and mud had been washed from it. He was wearing fancy black jacket that sort of resembled a tailcoat but buttoned up all the way to the collar. A small silver crown sat on his head but Dan got the feeling he didn't really want it there. Dan had to admit he looked very attractive and well, like a prince. Phil shot a glance at Dan that was full of worry and fear, but also what seemed like relief.

"Now you two," the Queen said sharply, "I believe we have something to discuss.


	11. Chapter 11

Phil glared at his mother as she told him to stand still. He still felt the surge of power running through his hands from when he had used it to get free. He rarely used his magic, it tended to get a bit out of control when he was angry or panicked, of course this would not have been the case if he had any proper training but being the only natural magic user in Pruinae meant that there was a severe shortage of tutors. The Queen was sat in chair about a quarter of the way down the table, her eyes flickering between her son and the boy shackled to another chair a few meters away. Phil looked down at Dan, his heart sinking at the sight of him. His clothes were dirty and torn, he had bruises on his arms when he had been dragged around by the guards and as the shackles slid up his arm angry red marks where he had struggled against them showed. Dan however, looked far too panicked to realise any of this and was instead looking up with fearful eyes.

His mother was speaking but Phil wasn't listening. It was the first time he had seen Dan since they had been caught, Orthia making sure Phil never left her sight. All he could think of was the day in the woods where they saw each other last. The kiss and how happy he'd been when Dan had given him a chance to leave for good so he would never have to deal with the hardships of being king. He felt guilty and selfish looking back on it like that and yet did not regret his decision, even though it would never had have worked out. Tears pricked in his eyes. He loved Dan he really, did but now he was betrothed to Orthia and there was nothing he could do to change that. It was his birth right to never allowed to choose love. Speaking of Orthia, she would probably be marching down here right now to confront the Queen about her decision the cancel the wedding, right now a decision that Phil was incredibly relieved about, well he would be, if he knew why. Phil detested Orthia and had tried almost every trick he knew to throw her off but nothing seemed to be working. Orthia was dead set on being Queen and nothing was going to get in her way. As if on Que the young noble woman stormed into the dining hall on her bridle dress.

"What is going on?" she screeched, "Why had the wedding been cancelled and why on earth is the spy in here?"

"Orthia calm down we have an issue to sort out with young Mr Howell here, the wedding shall have to wait." The queen said sharply. Orthia's eyes widened.

"He's the prince of Serultria?" She gasped, backing away slowely, "What was he doing hiding out with prince Phillip then?" Suddenly her eyes darkened and she turned to Phil, "You traitor, how could you! You know what Serultria has done to our people and yet you still helped him, helped their prince? Oh, and I even thought you said you loved him, you don't deserve the right to be king."

Phil paled in shock. Dan was the prince of Serultria? He knew Dan came from a high up family but not that high. How could he though? The Serultria royal family had caused so much pain and suffering how can Dan who, despite his laziness and sarcastic attitude, seemed so nice and kind be part of that family? He looked down at Dan, unable to conjure up any words to describe what he was feeling. A mixture of shock, hurt and betrayal were swirling around inside his stomach making him feel faint.

"Dan, how?" he spoke in a barely audible whisper.

"Phil I'm sorry I wanted to tell you I did but I couldn't. the royal family isn't responsible for what's happening here, we haven't launched an attack in years it's the new Captain he's betrayed us, please just listen to me!" He begged, tears streaming down his face. His eyes were so full of regret and hurt and he was pleading with Phil but Phil didn't know what to do. Should he believe Dan or not? It would explain why only small patrols had ever dared to cross their border but at the same time it could just be a lie. For all he knew Dan was sent here to kill them all.

"Phillip?" The Queen whispered in a shaky voice, "Is this true?" Phil pressed his palms into his forehead, a sob escaping his throat. He didn't know what was true anymore. Everything he thought he knew was slipping away and everything that had been building up since he left was all coming back to him. He couldn't do this though, show his weakness. He had to be strong or he could tell bad things would happen. Drawing a ragged breath, he stood up straight and looked his mother in the eyes.

"I don't know if he's telling the truth about the royal family or not and frankly I don't care. What has been done has been done and the most important thing is that it won't happen again in the future. Or kingdom is falling apart and unless we put all of this behind us we will be destroyed. I don't know how we can achieve that. What I do know however, is that I do love Dan." Phil's voice began to crack and tears still threatened to fall but Phil stood up tall, proud of what he had just said because, because well it was true. During their short time together Phil had realised that he did love Dan, whatever evil family he may come from.

The Queen looked on, a mixture of bewilderment and disgust written across her face. Phil lent down to Dan who was smiling at him happily, despite the tears also rolling down his face. Phil placed his hands over the shackles and tried to cool them down as quickly as possible without hurting Dan. Dan winced as the cold metal started to burn against his skin and tried to pull away but Phil shushed him and continued freeze the mettle. Suddenly Dan's shackles shattered and the young prince was able to pull free and jump to his feet. One of the guards stiffened suddenly and drew his sword.

"Sit down prisoner, Prince Phillip step away from him." Ignoring the guard Phil stepped towards Dan and threw his arms around the younger boy. Dan squeezed his eyes shut a buried his face into Phil's neck, clinging onto him for dear life.

"I love you too Phil." He sniffed. This seemed to shake the queen out of her daze and she stood up angrily.

"Phillip what is going on? You agreed to marry Orthia, how can you love this boy?"

"Orthia threatened me, I didn't want to marry her. She just wants to be Queen." Phil explained quietly, never once letting go of Dan, who was quite happily being held in his arms.

"Yes, well that is true but you're still betrothed to me Phillip. You will marry me and I will be queen. This stupid Howell isn't going to get in the way, we should kill the both of them." Orthia sneered. Suddenly the Queens face hardened and she turned to Orthia angrily.

"You do not under any circumstances insult any member of this family lady Orthia. You may be betrothed to my son but may I now remind you that your wedding has just been cancelled. If your only goal in marrying my Phil is to be Queen then I find your own actions traitorous and hereby terminate your connections to this family. Now I suggest you leave immediately while I sort this mess out or I will treat you like any other traitor in this kingdom, I must admit your head would look quite pretty on a stake." She ordered sternly, a grin ghosting her lips at the sight of Orthia's face. The young noble woman simply stared at the queen in shock, a few strangled squeaking noises making it out of her mouth, before abruptly spinning on her heels and storming out of the room.

"You as well." The queen said sternly, gesturing to the guards that stood by the door. One of them stood forward to protest but she gave him such a scathing look the guard simply turned around and left.

And then there was only the three of them. Phil, his mother, and the man he held in his arms.

"Please don't hurt him mum," Phil wispered, still unable to meet her eyes and sounding far more pathetic than he had intended to, "It's not his fault, don't hurt him." The queen sighed.

"Look Phillip I want you to be happy I really do. I know I seem cold and heartless but really do care for you. When your brother left us and you ran away I was heartbroken. I understand you just want to be happy but this," She gestured to Dan, "Is not ok. I can't let us give in to the enemy just because my son has developed some silly little crush."

"Oh, what difference does it make." Phil snapped, "We're losing this war and you know it and, if what Dan says is true, it's not all the enemies fault. We can sort this out and stop this stupid war right now but no. You're so proud that you will let people, our people suffer and die rather than look weak. If cowardice is what you are afraid of showing then I'm afraid it's far too late." Phil expected his mother to look angry or offended, she just looked guilty.

"I can see you're point but how would we even be able to make peace with the Serultrians. If their royal family really doesn't know about the attacks heir military and thrusting upon us then I doubt they have much control over their own kingdom." She sighed frustratedly.

"But the people don't even know," It was Dan this time who spoke up, his voice muffled by Phil's shirt, "It's just this rogue Captain, I just need to alert my parents of this. We'll have him executed. The citizens don't even know about the war, it's just a feud really, between your family and followers and mine. We can just end this now and it will be better for both of our kingdoms."

"But how are we going to end it though. This 'so called' feud runs far too deeply to be simply wiped out by the forgiveness of one person. Even if the house of Lester agreed to end this war, how do will know that the Howells will reciprocate the gesture, let alone keep to their word. For all we know this could just be some elaborate plot to get us all killed, I won't allow it." She responded angrily. Dan gritted his teeth in frustration, he'd had enough.

"Oh for God sake woman are you mad? Do you really think I would ever run the risk of entering a kingdom where every lord, lady, guard, soldier, royal maid, butler or servant hate my guts, even the fucking cook wants me dead! Even if I was that mad how on earth would I be able to find your son who had been missing for several years despite the fact that you have had people looking for him ever since he left. The truth is I came here by accident, I found your son by accident and in all honestly, I fell in love by accident. I have been starved, dragged, hit, kicked, insulted and humiliated by your guards and all I really want now is to give my mum a bloody hug, a sentence I never ever thought I'd ever say. It is currently in my every interest to fix the relationship between our two kingdoms. Even if the rest of my family do not agree to this I shall be king in a few years, as shall Phil and we can sort it out then." He said irritably. The queen regarded him with a puzzled look.

"Perhaps you are right, however. I assume if you do indeed love each other as you keep saying you will want to get married. The citizens do not know about the war but a man marrying another man is certainly against the law besides, how would you make an heir." She said gently.

"In two days I will be king and I will have those stupid laws changed. Anybody should be allowed to marry the person they love, and if that person is the same gender as them then oh well. You won't be able to stop me when I become king." Phil sneered angrily. Obviously this was a topic that he cared deeply about, "As for an heir, there is such thing as adoption you know." The Queen sighed, seeming admitting defeat.

"Fine. Do what you want, I can't stop you. I will send a messenger to Serultria with the news that their son is here and that we have things to discuss." She turned to Dan, "For the meantime you can stay in the castle, but you won't be leaving your room. Phillip, you are not to let him out of you sight." With that she stalked out of the room. Phil looked down at Dan, a smile spreading across his face.

"Oh my God I can't believe it." He whispered happily, "I was so worried about you. I thought they'd hurt you and I'd never see you again. All I wanted to do was kiss you."

"Hey, you were the one who up until an hour ago was getting married to someone else." Dan said jokingly, instantly regretting the words as soon as they left his mouth as he saw guilt spread across Phil's face.

"I'm sorry Dan," Phil muttered sadly, "she threatened me, I was scared. I should have stood up for myself." Dan sighed and raised his hand to cup Phil's face.

"Hey look at me." He said softly, "That wasn't your fault and in all honesty if worked out for the better didn't it."

"We're going to get married." Phil said happily, excitement rising in his voice, "Like for real now."

"I know!" Dan replied, sounding equally exited before suddenly his tone changed. "You know we don't actually know each other that well. We should probably change that."

Suddenly they were kissing again but this time it was heated. Full of surprise and happiness and the promise they were staying together this time, for good. As if on que The Queens head suddenly popped around the door.

"And no funny business." She said with a wink.


	12. Chapter 12

The following three weeks after Dan had been freed from the dungeon were interesting to say the least. The royal family of Serultria had been contacted to call for negotiations about the future of their kingdoms. Dan was well aware that he was somewhat of a hostage in this situation, and yet it didn't really bother him. He had been staying with Phil and Dan couldn't be happier. Phil was busy a lot of the time now but on the few days he got off he would spend taking Dan on tours of the castle and city as well as going for walks in the gardens or woods. Since Dan was still technically a prisoner it seemed odd that he was allowed so much freedom. Initially he had been confined to Phil's room which he had been staying in but after a few days it became apparent to the castle guards that he had no intention of escaping so they left him to wander round on his own. Phil's coronation had been postponed until after the negotiations with Serultria were over although he was still acting king.

The Queen, Dan soon found out, was actually a rather lovely lady and although at first, she had come across as rather shallow and cowardly she was actually a strong and fair leader. In her eyes the Serultrian royal Family had been the cause of her kingdoms misery for the last decade as well as her own. She had lost her husband to one of their raids and both of her children had been driven out by the fear of being left to rule such a country. She had every reason to hate Dan and yet she remained hospitable and even kind towards him. It had taken almost a week to get through to Serultria seeing as all of the Solmortan messengers had been stopped at the border and letters had failed to get through, courteous of captain Pieta Dan presumed. He had grown to hate that captain with all his heart as the idea of his betrayal worked itself out in his mind. It explained so much, the shortage of soldiers that had recently threatened the kingdom despite the fact that there were far more than those of whom were on authorised missions, the disappearance of weapons and supplies from the royal armoury. They had thought it had been thieves, in a way they were right.

Surprisingly the council of Solmorta had accepted that this was not they royal families fault and more their military that had become traitorous. They had simply said that it explained it had solved some of their own dilemmas although Dan could tell they were still weary of him. Unlike Serultria where most decisions were made solely by the king and perhaps a few of his most trusted advisers Solmorta had a council system that consisted of members that had been voted in by the citizens of Perinea. The current council consisted of two diplomats, two merchants, the mayor of the South city, Rus, and the North city Semita, as well as a baker called Mr Brown who was supposedly extremely good with words. Well that and the fact that he brought cakes to every meeting. The king or Queen would usually run decisions through this council however could still override the decisions. Apparently, this system was very popular with the citizens as it meant that they did not feel completely under control of the monarchy.

The population of Solmorta was tiny compared to Serultria. The harsh terrain of the mountain as well lower birth rate in general meant that the population had stayed basically the same for the past hundred years. This meant that while Serultria's capital had become cramped and overpopulated over the years, Pruniae had not suffered and the old buildings had stood proud for generations. There were only three main cities in Solmorta. There was also the odd town in the mountains or along the Serultrian border but most work in the kingdom concentrated in these cities so there was no real reason to live outside of them. Rus was the farming city. Its residents tended to the few square miles of farming land around it although most residents owned their own land and were able to live off of it Rus was still the poorest of the three cities. Semita was in charge of all trading connections. It lay on the south border and allowed supplies to be taken to and from the ports in neighbouring kingdoms. Most of its residents were merchants and tradesmen and women. Phil had promised Dan that he would take him to see all of them and Dan had promised to do the same for all of Serultria's high cities.

Although he was beginning to really enjoy his time in Solmorta he found it sad in a way that Phil had to be King; it meant he was never around as much as Dan wanted him to be. Even on the days where he supposedly had a day off, his mind was often elsewhere. After they had finally managed to get into contact with Dan's family his mother had made the formal announcement that The Queen of Serultria herself was making a visit. Dan had had mixed feeling about this. On one hand, he was starting to really miss his family but on the other he wasn't quite sure he was ready to deal with them knowing he was gay. Never the less Phil had had to accept and she would be here within the week. It was a surreal thought that he might actually be getting married to Phil after he found out about each other's secrets. Dan had spent his entire life hating Solmorta and its people but now he got to know them he learned they weren't at all that bad. The destructive power of misunderstanding, false information and old grudges on each side had driven them apart and now was the time to bring them together again. To the citizens, it would just be another royal wedding, the only abnormal thing about it being that there would be two grooms instead of a bride and a groom. To the governing bodies of each kingdom and their respective families however this would be huge. This was going to stop the war. First however they had to deal with the traitorous Pieta. Oh, Dan had plans for him. In the meantime however, he would just have to wait for his mother to arrive and enjoy his time in the castle.

Hazel had turned up at the castle about two weeks after Dan had been freed with Oscar and Charlie in tow, something that Phil was greatly relieved by. The dogs themselves seemed extremely happy to see them, something that turned out to be a minor problem for Dan who once again found himself sprawled across the floor with a wolfhound lying across his chest. Along with the dogs Hazel also brought Ethel with her. Although Both Dan and Phil were aware by now that it had been the old grey farm horse that had given them both away, Dan couldn't help but be happy to see him. He had been through so much with that poor animal and to some extent reminded him of home. He did miss his home a lot considering he decided to run away in the first place, he guessed he never thought it would get this far. He missed his parents and his brother, he missed his library and his best, he missed Louise a lot, and fuck it, he even missed the tattle tale butler. Phil had been so happy to see Hazel; it just made him miss his own friend even more. In hind sight listening to Louise would have solved a lot of his problems and she would probably throttle him the next time they saw each other but in the end, it had worked out ok. If negotiations went well ten Dan would soon be married to a man he had grown to love and ended a war in the process, I mean talk about a happy ending.

Another thing that Hazel had taken back from the small village by the border was a little cactus from Phil's shop. Dan wasn't sure what Phil was more excited to see, the dogs of the cactus. After thanking her profusely he proudly named the plant Susan and placed it on his bedside table, ignoring Dan's protests. Oh well, if he wanted to get cactus spines stuck in his hand every time he reached for his glasses then that was his problem. After Phil had got over his admiration of the cactus they went for a walk in the gardens with the dogs. Despite not really knowing Hazel that well Dan found that they both had a slight affinity for sarcasm and while Hazel didn't really admit to it as much as Dan he could still sense it. They got along quite well and once Phil had revealed their plans to get married Hazel had given Phil a worryingly knowing look and muttered a little 'told you so' under her breath. Eventually though she had to go, stating that she had to leave before it got too dark although Dan got the impression that wasn't really the reason judging by the wink she sent in Phil's direction. Phil had simply blushed and looked at Dan with an awkward smile. Was she still trying to set them up even though they were already getting married, he would never understand that woman.

It was a cold, cloudless night but despite the chill Dan was feeling rather warm. Phil had thrown his arm around his fiancés waist and they were lying down on the grass looking up at the stars. It was clique and cheesy but they had nothing better to do. It was calm in the garden, the bustle of animals in the bushes and birds in the trees having died down to the occasional hedgehog in the fallen leaves and an owl hooting overhead. Dan knew that the minuet they stepped back inside the castle they would be instantly bombarded with jobs and demands for Phil but out here they were safe from that. Dan gently moved to rest his head onto Phil's shoulder and sighed happily. Phil pulled him closer and pressed soft kiss to his forehead.

"Do you think this whole thing is going to work out?" He mumbled quietly, burying is face into Dan's hair.

"What do you mean?" Dan asked curiously.

"You know, the marriage and the negotiations. I know I want to marry you but what if our parents fall out again? What will we do then?"

"You're acting king, can't you just make Solmorta agree."

"Well I can but I won't if Serultria's demands are unreasonable. I want what's best for my people and if that means I can't be happy, well then I'll have to live with that." Phil responded with a sigh. Dan furrowed his brow and looked back at him

"What about me?" he asked, hurt evident in his voice. Phil turned on his elbows to look at Dan.

"Dan, I love you, I really do. I would do anything for you but if marrying you puts other people in danger I can't do it. Why should two people's happiness be more important than the lives of the people around us? I will do everything in my power to get my mother and yours to sign this treaty so we can get married. I'm sure if we both try as hard as we can we can get through this, we've already gotten this far haven't we." There was sincerity in his voice but although they were supposed to be comforting they filled Dan with a sense of unease.

"Well let's just hope they go well then" Dan replied with a half-hearted smile. Sensing Dan's discomfort Phil wrapped his arms around the younger man.

"Hey, don't worry; we're going to be fine." He whispered, stroking Dan's curly, brown hair, "We're going to get married and live in a nice castle or palace or wherever you want. We can adopt some kids, get another dog. Our kingdoms will be united; our parents might actually get along. Things are going to be fine."

Dan smiled at his words and squeezed him extra tight.

"I love you." He muttered under his breath, because he did, and maybe the future wouldn't be that bad.


	13. Chapter 13

Phil didn't shout. Sometimes he snapped and raised his voice a little but the last time he had properly shouted was when his brother had abdicated, and that had been a long time ago. Dan had said that he wouldn't abdicate because it would put too much pressure on his younger brother, Phil wished his own brother had had that insight. He had been so angry and sad and scared. He loved his brother but doing something like that was unforgivable. He had said some horrible stuff and the worst part was that he could even apologise anymore. Martyn had left Solmorta with his wife soon after he gave up the crown, leaving Phil to soon take charge of a future nation. Phil couldn't really blame his brother for leaving, he wanted to marry a commoner, something his father at the time would never have agreed to. If he'd only waited a few more weeks that issue would have disappeared completely, he didn't even come to the funeral.

Although he never shouted and saw himself as quite a calm person, Phil was very tempted to start screaming, mainly because of the two women who were screaming at each other across the table in front of him, if anything he thought the negotiations would at least be civil. The Queen of Serultria had arrived the day before. She had pulled her son immediately into a tight hug and started fussing, Phil could see why Dan had acted so spoilt when they'd met, from the sound of it his mother wasn't exactly fond of the idea of him mingling with the common folk.

Even Mrs Lester who was usually so calm and nice was currently ranting on about something the Serultrians did about twenty years ago and something that really should have been forgiven years ago. She wasn't shouting per say but her voice was loud and accusing. She had control of the situation and she knew it so she was able to keep relatively rational. Dan's mother however, had completely lost it. Her face was red and she was shouting so loud that Dan had actually shoved his fingers in his ears to block it out.

"Why do you ever think we'd make peace with you. You were the one who started this in the first place."  
"Excuse me, if I remember correctly it was your lot that started this."  
"Well then you must be losing your memory you old bitch."   
Phil scowled, nobody called his mother an old bitch.  
"Excuse me your majesty." Phil said sternly, addressing the Queen of Serultria, "but could you please refrain from using that sort of language in this castle."  
Mrs Howell turned to him, a sneer plastered on her face.  
"Don't tell me what to do you Solmorta scum."  
To which Dan joined in with the insults and the cycle continued. What's worse was that Pieta had showed up as well. Unfortunately for them Dan's mother was completely adamant that her loyal adviser would never do anything to betray her. Talk about a stubborn lady. Phil wasn't sure much more he could take so eventually he just got up and left with Dan in tow.

"You know I really thought this would go well." He said sadly, tuning to Dan.  
"Yeah me too."

They were sat on the castle wall overlooking the city. The sun was starting to set behind the mountains and the long road that lead up to them was filled with minors heading back from work. Phil looked down towards the bottom of the castle walls. There were a few rabbits hopping around on the grass, occasionally scattering as a guard walked past. His mother had hated them when Phil was a child. They used to eat all of the snowdrops she planted at the castle gates. Phil had always found them quite funny creatures, he'd owned a fluffy white one called Millie as a child. She was the sweetest things ever, her nose constantly twitching, well that was until his brother's cat had eaten her.

"Phil?" Dan muttered, startling him out of his thoughts.  
"Yeah."   
"What if we can't get married?" Phil sighed and placed his hand on top of Dan's and squeezed.  
"Don't worry Dan, I'll try and figure this out."   
"But you can't figure it out can you. You can't convince my mother to agree to us being betrothed and you can't convince her that joining our kingdoms will be a good idea. For fuck sake, we can't even convince her that Pieta is a traitor and the evidence is more than conclusive." Dan snapped, angrily rubbing away the tears that were forming in his eyes.  
"You were my backup plan when we met you know."   
Phil tuned to him and frowned.  
"What?"  
"When I ran away I wanted to find someone else to marry so I didn't have to marry this stupid countess my mum wanted me to. You were the first person I ran into and I thought you were pretty handsome so if I couldn't find anyone else I'd marry you." Phil raised his eyebrow at that but let Dan continue.   
"But then I found out I'd wandered into my enemy's country and I got stuck with you. I thought I'd just be able to leave when I got the chance but I found myself falling for you and yeah, then I asked you to marry me and we got caught. Now I love you and you're going to be ripped away from me again."  
Dan looked down in embarrassment as he mumbled the last part. Phil looked on sadly as Dan started to sniff.  
"I wish we could straight up get married now, just so it's official. I'm just sick of all of these changes and setbacks. I feel like we're in some overly dramatic Shakespeare play."  
"Tragedy or comedy?" Phil asked curiously earning a dirty yet fond luck from Dan.  
"Comedy I hope, as long as neither of us die we won't end up like Romeo and Juliet."  
"Which one of us is Juliet?"  
"Seriously Phil!" Dan exclaimed loudly, startling a few of the rabbits below them, "You are really not helping." Phil could help but let out a small giggle to which Dan smiled giddily.  
"Well now you feel better now don't you." Phil said with a grin. Dan rolled his eyes but leaned in to tackle Phil into a hug. It probably wasn't the best idea as they were sat on top of a wall but luckily, they both fell the right way and ended up on the battlements rather than a red patch on the floor.   
"Love you." Dan mumbled quietly, burying his face into Phil's shoulder. Phil smiled as he ran his hand gently through Dan's curly brown hair. They must have looked a little odd, the future king and the prince of the enemy kingdom cuddling in the middle of the castle battlements but today had been emotional.  
"Hey Dan." Phil said curiously, shuffling back to lean against the wall.  
"Yeah?"  
"We could get married now."  
Dan turned to his with a puzzled look.  
"No we can't Phil. Our parents haven't agreed to it and besides it would take far too much planning just to do it on our own."  
"No I meant we can just get it legally done in the church. We're adults we don't have to listen to our parents."  
"I never saw you as being a rebellious type."  
"Dan I ran away and lived as a florist for five years, I'm not exactly a model child." Dan smiled but looked unsure.  
"I'm not sure Phil, they might not take it too well."  
"So what if they do? My mum can't do anything and I'll be king in a few weeks. She might not sound like it but I'm sure your mother loves you too. If your brother hasn't gone through training to be king they won't force it on him if the original heir is still around, besides when we're both king we'll end this petty war anyway so really it won't affect anything."  
"Yeah and when I'm king Pieta will be a dead man." Dan added on, glaring down at the city gates where the captain sat astride his horse.  
"I'd off him now but something tells me that won't help anything." Dan raised his eyebrows.  
"I doubt you could." He said laughing. Phil grinned, taking this as a challenge. If course he wouldn't kill Pieta. Even if he hadn't been protected by the queen Phil disliked hurting people so killing someone was something he'd rather avoid, he could still prove his point thought.  
He allowed his magic to pool in his arms and flicked his wrist sharply towards the floor by Pieta's horse's feet.

A shard of ice shot down towards the ground and buried itself in the earth. Pieta's horse neighed loudly and bolted causing Pieta to slip out of the saddle and slam into the floor.

Dan howled with laughter as the Captain pulled himself out of the mud and started chasing his panic-stricken horse, his armour clanking heavily as he tried to run. Pretty soon Phil also began laughing and Pieta must have heard because he looked up towards the castle wall with a look of disgust on his face. Dan smiled and he gave him the finger whilst Phil started wheezing next to him. The captain shot them one last dirty look before storming into the castle, leaving a trail of mud behind him. His horse was long gone and he had been defeated so he would do what any decent head of the military would, run and whine to the Queen. Dan was right when he said Pieta was a little pathetic.  
"Why don't you use your magic that often?" Dan asked, leaning his shoulder against Phil's. Phil shrugged casually but he looked uncomfortable.  
"I don't know, I just never had anyone to properly teach it to me. Magic died out in my family generations ago."  
"How did you get it then?"  
"My Grandma probably. She wasn't very powerful but she always said she could read peoples future, she always refused to do mine though." He replied sadly, "I do miss her though."  
Dan leaned in and wrapped his arms around Phil in a rather awkward sideways hug.   
"Well think your magic is really cool, I bet you could do loads more if you tried."  
Phil sighed and turned to look back towards the castle.  
"I'm not really sure I want to try Dan. What I can do hurts people, I don't want to do that. I could lose control and what if I go the way of forced magic users, I don't want to end up like that." Phil shuddered as he remembered the yellow papery skin of the old royal family who gave in to temptation.

His parents had been smart enough to leave it alone but some of his more distant relatives had given in to the temptation. His uncle was executed after he used forced magic to kill someone and he'd been made to watch as a warning. Of course, he later found out he had natural magic and it wouldn't really affect him but it scared the shit out of his brother. Dan wrapped his arms around Phil in a rather awkward but comforting side hug.  
"That's ok, it's your choice." He said gently, slowly running his fingers through Phil's hair. Phil sighed and looked back down at the city.

The sun had mostly gone down by now and all that was left visible of the mountains were there immense jagged outline standing out against the grey sky. The streets of Perinea were empty, only lit up by the flickering torches that lined the bottom of the castle walls. There was a dog barking by the gates, a stray probably and a cat yowled from further into the city. The city cathedral was silent, it's bells remaining still until mass in the morning when they would ring through the city. Lights still shone through the stained glass as it did always. The church was a shelter for the homeless of perinea, a place of sanctuary for the needy and helpless so it bustled through the night. Dan must have caught his gaze because he followed it before turning back to Phil.  
"You know what you said about getting married? We could do that."

Phil looked over to Dan, startled by his outburst.

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's only piece of paper anyway and then we're stuck together forever." Dan grinned with a shrug, "do you want to?"

"Yes of course I do!" He replied happily pulling Dan into an even tighter hug, "Love you." He mumbled into his shoulder.

Said laughing, "Now are we going or what?" Suddenly Phil looked unsure.

"This is a big thing to do, are you sure?" Dan rolled his eyes and pulled Phil to his feet.

"Yes I'm sure, now come on, I don't want y mum coming to look for me." Phil smiled and shook his head as Dan dragged him along.

"Ok then future Mr Lester let's go!" Dan rolled his eyes fondly and Phil before setting off at a jog, Phil following close behind him. This time they were actually going to get married and Dan certainly wasn't going to let anything get in the way this time.


	14. Chapter 14

The cathedral in Solmorta was very different from any church Dan had seen in Serultria. It was much older and made entirely out of marble and other white stones like most of the houses. While in Serultria most churches apart from those owned by the royal family were basic and infrequently used this one was ornate crowded, albeit by the homeless of Pruniea rather than religious folk.

"Are you sure the priest will let us marry." Dan said quietly as they made their way through the large oak door at the front of the cathedral. There were about thirty beds laid out along the pews with a slightly bedraggled man or woman lying in each one. A few gave Phil a cheery wave from where they sat reading or talking to others, which Phil kindly returned.

"Don't worry Dan. I used to come here all the time when I was little to read in the library, I shouldn't have been allowed but Father Alister was really nice. I'm sure he'll do it for us, he's really nice." Phil said softly, gently stroking Dan's arm to calm him down.

"He may be nice but you know priests don't always like well . . . you know." Dan whispered, gesturing between himself and Phil, "What if he decides it's against Gods will or some bullshit."

Phil sighed.

"Dan, I know your worried but Alister has conducted more than a fair few same sex wedding services and been fine with it, I'm sure we won't be an exception. Besides I'm going to be king in a few months so he had to listen to me."

Dan shook his head and smiled at Phil's confidence but if he had been in the same position back in Serutria he probably wouldn't have hesitated to pull out the whole "I'm going to be king listen to me" card either. They slowly tiptoed around a group of people lying close the alter and headed towards a wooden door at the side of a rack of candles, gently flickering in the dull lighting.

The door clicked open and Dan gasped when he saw the library on the other side. The books weren't neatly arranged on ornate wooden shelves or piled on marble tables as the palace library had them but rather they were stacked in messy heaps on the floor marked with genre and authors. Some books were kept I glass cases that stretched on for as far as the eye could see, presumably the more precious novels. The floor sloped gently downwards and went on for as far as the eye could see, further on into the library the candles had either burnt out or hadn't been lit so it was difficult to see really how far it went on for. Phil had mentioned once that this was where all the important documents and records of Solmorta were kept so its catacombs probably spread out underneath the whole of Pruniae.

What caught Dan's eye the most however was a small fire by the door. The floor of the archives was cold stone and although the books were a welcome sight the decent into darkness was something that terrified Dan. There could be anything in the depths of this place. He shivered at the thought of some horrible monster crawling out of that shadows. The dark had always made him do that, imagine monsters and demons that terrified him oh so much. It was like the rational part of his brain gave up once the lights dimmed. He stepped closer to Phil, liking how warmth radiated from him. It was odd that someone who had the ability the conjure up ice could always feel so cosy.

Most of the light around them was created by this fire that flickered and dimmed occasionally. It was housed in a small fireplace set into the wall on the small area where the floor had not yet begun to slope downwards. There was a worn, red rug beside it and on top of that a battered old armchair. For such an eerie place, it looked quite comfortable. Phil stood on his tip toes scanning the rows of books for any sigh of the priest he was looking for.

"Well I'll be dammed. I was worried that you'd forgotten about your old friend." A voice sounded from behind them, "Now what brings you to my delightful library?" Phil turned around a smile spread across his face.

"Allister it's so good to see you." He said brightly. Allister smiled warmly but his face hardened again. He was well over ninety, wrinkled faced and wispy haired but he conducted himself with the prowess of a man far younger than him. He wore his white and silver priest gown as always and Dan noticed that it was a lot different to the ones priests wore when he was back at home. He had on a pair of thick, silver rimmed glasses that balanced precariously on the tip of his nose and a band off willow around his wrist. Willow trees were sacred in Solmorta, something that had confused Dan a lot at first. He understood why some cultures and countries would have sacred animals and lands but why trees. Trees were made to give food and firewood. If they got in the way of a building or farmland they were simply cut down. A tree can grow back after all.

Despite his initial confusion however Phil had soon explained it to him. They were beautiful trees and their branches hung down to the floor in a way that resembled waterfalls and falling snow. There are endless myths and tails about them even in Dan's library where all supposed traces of Solmortan influences had been whipped out. Phil had told Dan all about his culture and beliefs and whilst most chose not to believe in gods or guardians, hard work and effort being favoured for getting things done over preying to some magic man in the sky, some still believed in the spirits that watched from the willows. There was one over the creek in the castle gardens Phil had often taken Dan too, quietly musing over whether he should ask the willow spirits for luck or not.

Despite living in a kingdom where the culture was heavily influence by the belief in a god Dan had never seen the appeal. He never believed in fate, something that he had been reminding himself ever since his adventure began. He didn't want to think that meeting Phil was part of anybody else's plan, it certainly wasn't his mothers. He liked to think it was just a lucky coincidence that he had somehow managed to run into the lost prince of a nation his nation is at war with and then somehow fall in love to save his kingdom, Lord that sounds like one of those self-written stories bored teens write about their favourite actors or something. Talking about theatres Dan thought back to the main amphitheatre in the outskirts of pruinae, he'd heard there was a rather good show playing there tonight. Perhaps that could be their honey moon.

He was too lost in his thoughts to notice Phil giving him an odd look but was quickly pulled from his trance when he heard a voice. Allister was ranting about something and it took a few moment for his to comprehend it was Phil he was talking at.

"You did a very stupid thing running away you know." He was saying loudly. Phil mumbled a small apology but rolled his eyes regardless. He had been lectured on this by almost everyone he had met back at the castle. One could easily mistake them for lecturing a child rather than a king, "We were all so worried. Your parents were stricken with grief, they had everyone in the kingdom searching for you." Phil looked down at the floor guiltily whilst Allister continued, "I know you were upset about your brother leaving but your family needed you more than ever and you abandoned them." He explained in a way that made Phil look as if he were going to sink into the floor. Suddenly he straightened up again.

"It's all right for you to say that Allister but I never wanted to be king and Martyn shoved that onto me. He left because he wanted to marry a commoner but he knew I wouldn't be able to just settle down with a nice noble woman so why did he get to leave and not me. I loved my family more than anything but he betrayed my trust and it hurt. I regret running away I really do. I'll never see my father again and it still haunts me to this day that if I had been there then maybe I would have been able to save him but that's in the past now and I'm back aren't I." He snapped. Allister looked down to the floor before turning back o Phil.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to upset you. It's just . . ." He walked back to the old armchair and settled down into it, "I was worried about you as well you know." Phil's angry expression softened slightly and he shifted on his feet. He quietly mumbled a quick apology under his breath which the priest did not appear to here.

"So" Allister started loudly clearing his throat, "May I enquire as to why you have decided to come and visit me now of all times. I would have thought you would have been at the negotiations with your mother. She's a good queen but she does tend to get a little defensive about the things she cares about, she probably needs a level head helping her."

"Ah well you see," Phil said awkwardly, reaching up to rub the back of his neck, "They're not going particularly well and really we couldn't stick around much longer."

"Ah, I'm guessing by 'we' you mean you and your little boyfriend over there." he replied, gesturing to Dan who was still stood in the doorway. His tone wasn't a mean one but the way he phrased it defiantly suggested disapproval of the idea. Phil's face fell instantly.

"How do you know about that?" He had intended to sort of build Allister up to the idea that Dan was his boyfriend and prey Allister wouldn't be too bothered. The queen had made it quite clear that news about her sons relationship with the prince of Serultria was to be kept an absolute secret, nobody was supposed to know.

"You of all people should know I have connections Philip, I am the keeper of the archives after all." Dan frowned, Allister was starting to sound more and more like a villain by the second.

"Well Allister," he said sternly, addressing the priest for the first time, "We actually came to ask you something." Phil looked nervous. He was looking down at his hands and gently fiddling with a loose thread on his shirt sleeve. Dan walked up to him and took his had to calm him down. Phil looked up at him and smiled encouragingly before letting go of his hand to step forward.

"We want to get married. Our parents are still up in the castle arguing like moody teenage girls and they'll never come to an agreement. I'll be king soon and so will Dan so we could wait to get married anyway but we'd rather do it sooner than later. Will you do the ceremony for us?"

Allister narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"So the queen has not agreed to this?" Phil looked at Dan who raised his eyebrow questioningly.

"Ah well um no but I'm an adult now, I don't need her consent."

Allister sighed and shrugged. "Well alright then, I don't see why not. I must say though I won't be able to perform the ceremony in the eyes of your gods Daniel. I don't agree with you beliefs and it is against my vows to put forward the belief that any other religion accept my own exists." This caused Dan to frown. He didn't particularly believe in the Gods of his family's religion but there was no need to be so narrow minded about it. He could at least accept that other people had different beliefs than his own. Phil noticed Dan's discomfort and leaned over to him.

"If you don't like him we could find something else." He whispered quietly in his ear. Dan shook his head.

"No its fine, let's just do this quickly. I want to be married to you but knowing our luck some guard is bound to burst in and stop us just before we tie the knot. The sooner we do this the more time we have before our parents realise we've left the castle." Phil smiled and turned to Allister.

"Alright then, the sooner the better." Allister nodded and walked towards a cupboard.

"In order for it to be legally standing you need an audience of at least two people." Phil looked back towards the pews of the church where there were still some people up and milling around.

"We could ask a couple of them." He said gesturing to them over his shoulder.

"Yes that what I was going to suggest." He said smiling, pulling a few things out of the cupboard and walking towards the front of the cathedral.

"Who would like to be the audience for the prince and his boyfriend getting married." He announced loudly. Dan burst out laughing at how blunt the priest was being whilst Phil seemed to attempt to blend into the wall in embarrassment. Most of the gathering cheered and quickly agreed, apparently delighted by the idea that they would get to see a royal wedding. A few shuffled towards the back, muttering and moaning about how it was wrong for two men to get married. Dan huffed angrily, what did they know anyway?

Allister quickly fastened a length of blue cloth around both of the boy's wrist and asked them to hold onto it. Dan looked down at it puzzled, this was not like how they did marriages in Serultria at all.

"The cloth is supposed to bind us together." Phil explained quietly, seeing Dan's confusion, "That way when we say the vows we will be held together for life, you want that don't you? If you don't there's still time to say know. We could always wait a little longer."

Dan smiled and shook his head. "We've talked about this, I want this and so do you." Phil smiled and turned back to Allister. "Let's begin."


	15. Chapter 15

The atmosphere in an inn was something that was completely foreign to Dan, of course it would be. He had spent the last twenty years, bar the last six months, of his life holed up in a castle. He'd visited various nobles' houses and stayed there when he travelled out of the capital but any member of a royal family staying in an inn was an unspeakable thing. The royals were god's chosen leaders, at least in the eyes of church goers. Dan had never understood that. Apparently it said it somewhere in the page of one of their ancient holy books, not that he had ever bothered to read them. Perhaps that was why the population of Serultria was so content to be ruled by a family who were so ignorant to their lives and suffering. Dan had learnt from a young age how to act and speak in public, although he didn't really like it that much. Although he often appeared rude to those he didn't particularly fancy talking to he never stepped out of the boundaries set.

In Solmorta the royals were more of a humble affair, although they still had to uphold a certain amount of policy in public. For instance, crying, drinking, shouting, cursing and a plethora of other things were all forbidden outside the privacy of the castle. Phil seemed to have forgotten all of that however, his time staying in the village by the border had all but obliterated his royal prowess and whilst he could deal with castle affairs with ease and knew how every lady, lord or any other member of his extensive family, most of which he had never even met, should be addressed, it took a certain amount of concertation to maintain a respectable mannerism.

That concentration of course dissolved once he had gotten a few drinks in his system. Phil didn't drink that much, unlike in Serutria where the water was often unclean Perunaes' water come from the mountains where it was fresh and unpolluted. This means that it didn't have to be made into ale to sterilise it. If there was ever a drought or the major rivers ever got to polluted, human waste being the main offender, the water had to be taken from elsewhere which often meant it was too dangerous to drink. In order to make it safe it was added to alcohol, which killed of anything too nasty. As a result, Dan was well accustomed to the common drinks, something that couldn't really be said for Phil.

Once the ceremony had been completed, and Phil had payed attention to every detail, there was something about Allister's behaviour that didn't quite add up, they had made a swift exit. There had been a fair few guards wandering the city, meaning that it had probably come to the two queen's attention that they had gone. As much as Phil disliked worrying his mother, whom he loved dearly and had already done a ridiculous amount of worrying on his behalf, he couldn't quite bring himself to go back into the castle. Telling their parents would cement what they had done, they were married now. Dan certainly didn't regret it but it would be quite a shock to the system when the magnitude of what they had done finally hit them. You see they hadn't just promise to be together for life, which was a rather big deal in itself, they had essentially tied two kingdoms together.

Dan shook his head to rid thoughts of what would happen next, he didn't really want to think about it. Phil was sat on a stool by his side, drink in hand, happily chatting to the people around them. Dan as pretty sure some had already recognised him as the prince but nobody seemed to be saying anything about it. The population of Solmorta was probably a little confused by the Lester's actions in recent weeks. The lost prince returned, he was being coronated, then he her wasn't, he was getting married, then he wasn't and then all of a sudden the queen of a neighbouring kingdom they mysteriously cut all trade links with thirty years ago show up. It was all a bit mad really, Dan was glad of it though. He was certainly glad Phil, his Phil didn't have to marry that vile, horrendous greedy witch that was Orthia. Speaking of her, Dan hadn't seen much of her since her outburst at the queen, maybe she had been arrested, Dan would give half his kingdom to see her behind bars.

The Inn was full, as it most likely always is on a Friday night and you almost had to shout to be heard over the rumble of laughing and cheering. Phil turned back to Dan and leaned his head on the others shoulder. He was a tad bit tipsy and was smiling uncontrollably, Dan could help but smile along with him.

"I'm tired, should we go to bed now?" Phil asked quietly and Dan wouldn't have heard if he hadn't been so close. Dan tilted his head, it wasn't exactly late and neither of them had at all that much to drink. Suddenly it clicked in his head what Phil was insinuating. Dan smiled.

"On go on then." After all, it was their wedding night.

The next morning Dan didn't really feel like getting up. He was feeling lovely and warm in bed. Phil was lying asleep next to him, gently snoring with his arm around Dan's waist. The light shining through the gap in the curtains was really too bright for him to comprehend this early. Unfortunately, they only had the room until ten and the sun was already too high in the sky for it to be before nine. He gently shook Phil until the other man until e groaned and opened his eyes.

"Aww has some one got a hangover?" Dan cooed as Phil rubbed his eyes.

"Shut up I didn't drink that much." Phil said rolling his eyes fondly.

"No you didn't but you can't really handle alcohol unfortunately."

Phil laughed and shoved Dan's shoulder gently. Suddenly his expression turned to one of worry.

"We have to go and tell our parents now, don't we?" Dan's gaze softened and he leant into Phil's chest.

"Don't worry, everything's going to be ok. We're adults, we shouldn't care so much about what our families thinks about us."

Phil looked down guiltily.

"I know that but I've already caused my family so much stress, I'm just not sure my mother can handle that much more." Dan sighed

"I've caused my family a fair amount of stress too you know."

Phil shook his head and looked back down at him.

"I ran away after my brother abdicated, my parents both thought I was dead, and then the raids kept coming from Serutria. They killed my father Dan." He sniffed and looked away, "I would have gone home if I'd have known. By the time I found out I was too late for me to go back. Why do you think my mother is so desperate to get me corinated, why she was ok with us? It's only because she doesn't want me to leave. I think she was really hoping the accords wouldn't work out and she could get me to marry someone else, not Orthia of course, but someone else. She only said she was ok with us marrying so I wouldn't leave."

Suddenly a wave of nervousness flooded over Dan. If Phil's mother didn't approve, and his mother certainly wouldn't, what were they going to do? Dan was counting of the Queen of Solmorta backing them but if she didn't then there were lot of things that could go wrong.

"Phil why didn't you mention this before we got married, why did you suggest it in the first place?" He said angrily.

"I'm sorry," Phil sniffed, "I just didn't want you to leave, if the negotiations ended badly your mother would have taken you back to Serutria and it doesn't matter if we'll both be king soon because our kingdoms would be at war, not private war, real war. And it wouldn't even be our parents fighting, it will be me against you in the end and I didn't want that."

"So you only married me so we didn't have to fight then, because you know we'd win." Dan said, pulling himself away from Phil. Phil sighed and shook his head.

"No Dan I married you because I love you, not having to fight was only something to speed it up, not the main reason."

Dan felt himself becoming angrier but attempted to calm himself. He could see where Phil was coming from, of course marriages in royal families had to be strategic and the fact that they loved each other was just a side point really, but he still felt used.

"We'll talk about this later" he said stiffly, "But we need to get back to the castle." Phil nodded quietly and started to get dressed. Just as they were about to leave the room Phil grabbed Dan by the arm.

"I'm sorry I really am; I should have told you. I love you so much I don't want you to be mad at me. Just please think it through from my side please."

"I Understand I just wished you'd told me first." Dan said sharply. Phil groaned and buried his head in his hands.

"I though you would have at least already had an idea."

"Well I didn't." Dan replied stiffly, "And as my husband you are supposed to tell me everything."

"Well I just did, didn't I?" The other whispered meekly. Dan let out a long breath and turned to face his husband.

"I know you did I'm just stressed. Just know that whatever happens when we get back to the castle I'm blaming entirely on you."

Phil gulped and nodded.

They made their way out of the tavern, the owner giving them a quick wave from behind the bar. The walk back up to the castle was tense and when they arrived at the gates they were met with a rather stern commander Strax.

"Where in the willows were you, the castle has been on lockdown since six yesterday evening."

Phil ignored him and headed through the gates, commander following him close behind. Strax was a stout man, his stocky build filled out by muscle. He had sparse brown hair and the blue eyes that characterised most of Solmorta. His wife, Aliumia was however the complete opposite. She was weapons trainer for the army legions however she was not someone Phil had ever spent a prolonged amount of time with. She was tall, with long black hair and narrow eyes. Her dark skin contrasted starkly with the light blue of Solmortan soldier's uniform and she was always arguing with someone.

Even though she actually seemed quite nice Phil was glad he had a private tutor for his swordsmanship lessons. Everyone who came out of her training sessions struggled to walk for the next few days.

"Your majesty I really think you should go and talk to your mother, she's been worried sick." Strax said as he jogged to keep up with Phil, whose legs were significantly longer than his own.

"I was going to find her anyway, where is she?" Phil said in a scolding voice. Strax jumped at his tone and answered meekly,

"She's in the throne room sir."

"And my mother?" Dan asked in an equally burning tone.

"I believe she's in there as well." Strax replied with clear distain. Dan set off at a sprint (something he rarely did) to catch up with Phil who was already at the castle doors."

They stepped inside and entered the throne room. The banquet table had been laid out in the middle of the room, replacing the pews that had been there when Orthia and Phil were about to get married. In a way Dan was glad that Orthia had asked him to come and watch, in the end it was that which caused the wedding to be called off in the first place. If it had not been for that he may have still been rotting in the dungeon and Phil would be married off to a girl he hated.

The Queen was sat at the head of the table with Dan's mother at the other end. Neither seemed to be eating anything, rather just giving each other foul glances from the other side of the room. The princes did not take this as a good sign.

"Phillip!" Phil's mother shouted as he shut the door behind him. She was up in an instant and seemed to teleport across the room she was so fast. She engulfed Phil; in a tight hug.

"Oh thank the Gods I thought you'd run off again, if you ever disappear without telling me again I'll make sure you never leave this castle again. Got that?" Phil nodded as the Queen released him from her death grip.

"Now tell me where you've been." Phil sighed and decided to be blunt about it.

"Dan and I just got married."

A collective gasp echoed round the room and Phil held his breath for what he assumed his mother would say."

"I told you, you disbelieving cow." Was definitely not what he was expecting. It took a moment for both Dan and Phil to figure out who the comment was aimed at but it was made certain when the Queen of Serultria dug her hand into her pocket and threw a handful of notes at Kathryn.

"Wait you were making bets on us? I thought you hated each other?"

"Oh no Phis mother replied happily, we have come to quite an agreement. If you had bothered to stick around you would have known that we got past the petty fighting pretty soon and got onto the real stuff." Her majesty replies, quite pleased with herself, "Oh and yeah we did take bets. I know how reckless you can be." She reached up to squeeze Phil's cheek put he pulled away just in time.

"Oh yes we've sorted things out now dear, that traitorous captain or ours is safely locked in the dungeons. I can't believe I ever trusted a man who could do such vile things. Oh and I do wish you'd have told me your preference over men sooner Daniel it would have been so much easier to find a partner you agreed with, although I supposed you've sorted that out now." Dan looked at his mother in shock. He'd always thought she would hate him for being gay.

"Now since you've insisted on getting married privately we will have to announce it soon. Mary!" The queen screeched and a girl of around sixteen rushed in. "Ah Mary there you are. I want you to spread the word of my son's marriage to the charming prince Daniel to the rest of the staff. We must get ready for a celebration. I will announce it in front of the castle gates at six this evening. Ake sure everyone is gathered."

Mary smiled and shot a smile at the two princes as she left the room. Dan turned to Phil and smiled happily. He couldn't believe it. It was weird how things keep going this way when they expect the worse but it ends up alright. Maybe they were just both extremely lucky.


	16. Chapter 16

Dan and Phil stood on the castle walls, admiring the view of the city. The sun had already set behind the mountains as it did early every evening and the glow of fire could be seen shining through the windows of homes. The orange light of dusk was reflected off the marble roofs of the buildings in the inner city, giving the whole city a warm feel. The royal household were now all aware of the marriage between the two princes and in two hours so would the rest of the kingdom.

Solmorta was a lovely place and one that was understanding and accepting. Its people were kind and loved their royal family and the council that ran their country. Neither of the boys were worried about what they would say. Of course having two kings would be a little odd at first and the whole problem about producing heirs may stir up a little controversy but it was nothing to worry about. Their main problem would be Serultria. The majority of Serultria were deeply religious and gay relationships, although not illegal, were thought of as disgusting.

Messengers were being sent to all the major cities in both Serultria and Solmorta to announce the royal marriage and word was also being sent to the capital about the treacherous Captain Pieta's arrest. The captain had sent a letter from his cell to the dungeons already but what it contained neither of the Princes new. Phil had demanded to see the letter however one of Serultrias's guard had already taken it away. He would be joining his captain in the cells when he returned. It was no doubt a plea to some noble family or family member to get him out but that wouldn't be happening soon. Queens of both kingdoms were ready to have him hung.

His actions had taken away so many innocent lives and betrayed so many others. The hatred he bore for a reason he probably couldn't even remember against Solmorta had taken away Phil's father and driven his brother away. The king of Serultria was yet to travel down to Solmorta to meet his wife and son which Dan though was rather odd although he had always had a tendency to put his kingdom before his family and most likely wouldn't leave it unless it was absolutely necessary, something Dan both admired and hated.

Dan sat on the wall and beckoned Phil to join him.

"I really hope this goes well," He sighed, "I feel so happy at the moment but I don't think my kingdom will like me for this."

"If you kingdom doesn't liken our relationship then they can suck it," Phil said in a bright voice, "You are the prince and you should be able to do what you want (within reason off course)."

Dan smiled and rested his head on Phil's shoulder.

"You're feeling cheery at the moment."

"Yeah well I'm just as happy as you, if not more. Guess I'm just better at expressing it. Even if your kingdom dislikes you, you could always come and live here with me."

Dan smiled but a sad look came over his face.

"I love it here Phil I really do but I don't think I could spend my whole life here. I miss home, even if it never really felt like it was home. I miss my library and my bed and my friends, well friend."

Phil gave him a sympathetic look and reached round the pull him into a hug.

"Don't worry I understand" he whispered in a calming voice, "I miss my old shop, and Hazel." Dan pressed his head into the crook of Phil's neck and they sat there like that for a while.

Dan was starting to drift off to sleep in the warmth of Phil's embrace when something jolted him awake. There was the sound of screaming, just outside the city. Suddenly the city gates started to close and guards rushed to speed it up.

"Go and warn the castle guard quickly." Phil said, keeping his eyes on the commotion. Dan leapt to his feet and set off along the marble steps towards the guard house at a sprint. The gate keepers were doing a good job at getting the enormous wooden gates closed but they weren't fast enough. The gate soon began to scrape open again and soldiers dressed in red and gold streamed into the city. Phil realised to his horror that these were Serultrian soldiers.

He cursed himself for not chasing up Pietas letter more vigorously. Clearly Pieta had placed his army just outside the city and had called them in now that he had been imprisoned. Phil felt frozen to his spot in the wall as they poured through the gate, their swords slashing at anyone who got in the way. They started making their way up the main street and towards the castle at an alarming rate. Phil looked over to the castle gates expecting them to be closing, except they weren't. He began to run down the steps towards the gate when two members of the Serutrian royal guard stepped out from either side of the passage way, blocking him.

Their swords were bloodied and Phil felt bile rise in his throat and he saw his own royal guard lying in a pool of their own blood. Commander Strax spluttered and coughed, blood streaming from his mouth and slit throat before falling still, his eyes still wide open. There was no chance the gate could be closed in time and from the looks of it there wouldn't be many people left in the castle to kill anyway even when the intruders got here. If he got there on time he could still save Dan and his mother if he got to them on time.

Serutrias soldiers had reached the gate and were now pushing themselves inside. Phil looked down, realising he didn't have a sword on him. He quickly summoned a bolt of ice and sent it flying towards the two guards blocking his way before turning on his heel and fleeing back up the stairs. On his way up he felt himself collide with someone and looked up to see his mother.

"Oh Phil thank god you're ok. Where's Dan? I know a back passage to get out of the castle, we need to leave now. Mrs Howell has already gone." She said franticly. Phil remembered the passage well, he and his brother had used it to sneak out of the castle before.

"I know where it is, go now and I'll get Dan. We'll be right behind you." Kathryn nodded and turned in the opposite direction to run down the stairs where she could get to the passage. Phil thanked the gods that the soldiers had been more concerned about getting into the throne room than storming the walls or they'd have been dead by now. He prayed Dan hadn't come to any harm and made his way along the wall towards the guard room.

A wave of relief washed over him as he saw Dan waiting for him by their spot.

"Come on Dan we need to leave now; I know a way out." Phil shouted over the clash of swords and shouts that echoed from the throne room.

"I hate to break it to you sweetheart but Danny won't be going anywhere." Phan felt dread creep up his spine like icy tendrils as he realised who was standing behind the other prince.

"Orthia, what are you doing. "He said as his face paled.

"Oh my dear fiancée", she said with a sickly sweet voice, "Do you really think you could just go and marry someone else." Phil looked at her desperately.

"Please you don't understand, if we don't leave now we'll be killed."

Orthia let out a cold laugh.

"No you'll be killed. You see I made a little deal with Pieta, he likes my way of thinking I guess. If I dispose of you he'll make me his queen and I really do fancy being queen."

She pulled a dagger from her belt and jabbed in in Dan's direction. Dan let out a small whimper but kept his ground. Orthia smirked and stepped closer to the prince.

"Oh Danny boy, no need to try and act brave, I know you want to beg for your life." She hissed into Dan's ear. He was shaking now. Phil saw red and instantly reached for his powers. Orthia lurched forward and brought her dagger to Dan's neck.

"You use them and I'll slit is throat, you think I'm stupid enough to not notice when you are using your powers, you freeze the whole bloody area." She said with a sharp laugh.

Suddenly Dan brought his elbow into the woman's rib and she backed off with a howl of pain.

"You little brat", she screeched and gave him a shove. Dan stumbled back, his foot catching the edge of the wall. It seemed to happen in slow motion. Phil jumped forward as Dan went over the edge, letting out a wail as his hand just missed Dan's.

"Dan!" Phil screamed, rushing to the edge. He looked down to see Dan looking back at him, his eyes were full of fear as he held onto the wall by the fingertips. Beneath him was fifty foot drop to a solid cobbled floor. He reached down to pull Dan up but felt a hard wrench at his collar and he was pulled back by Orthia. He felt a band of orange energy form around his body and suddenly felt unable to move.

He watched helplessly as Orthia waltzed towards Dan, a grin spreading across her face.

"You're just making it easy for me." She smirked. Dan let out a cry of pain as she pressed her foot down onto his hands. One by one is fingers were prized off the edge. Phil tried desperately to wiggle out of Orthia's magic ad called desperately for help. Unfortunately, it seemed that his cries were drowned out by those coming from the main palace. Dan tried desperately to keep his grip of the bricks.

He didn't want to die, there was so much he wanted to do. He wanted to talk to his mum and his brother, tell them he loved them. He even wanted to talk to his father. He wanted to live his life with Phil, adopt a child, be a Dad. Another finger slipped and a sob racked through his body. His right hand was now dangling by his side and he couldn't find the strength to pull it back up. Another finger was prized off and he heard Phil shouting. His head was a muddle of desperate thought's and terror.

Phil's throat was sore from shouting and no matter what he did he couldn't free himself from Orthia's magic. His body was wracked with pain with every struggle but still he persisted. Dan was barely holding on now. Suddenly he heard Dan cry out and his hand shot up and grabbed Orthia's ankle. The woman let out a shriek and her foot slipped from under her. Both of them went over the edge. Phil screamed as he heard a crunch as something hit the floor. The band around him dissipated and he rushed to the edge.

Dan and Orthia were both lying at the bottom of the wall. Orthia's neck was bent in the wrong direction and she wasn't moving. A pool of blood was forming around Dan but it still seemed to be bleeding. Phil got up and rushed along the top of the barricades until he reached the steps leading down. One of the Serultrian soldiers shouted after him as he ran out of the gate but he payed no mind to it. Dan and Orthia's bodies were lying on the cobbles. Orthia was dead. Her eyes were open and pale and there was blood trickling from her mouth. He body was bent in all the wrong ways and part of her skull had been crushed in by the fall, leaving a rather gruesome sight. Phil instantly ran to Dan.

"Dan! Dan!" Phil cried as he cradled the younger man in his arms, "Please wake up, please wake up," sobs wracked his body. Dan opened his eyes and smiled weakly.

"Phil shhh it ok." His voice was weak and there was blood in his mouth.

"Oh god Dan please stay with me, you can't go."

Dan tried desperately to move but pain shot through his body leaving him dizzy. He felt his head go fuzzy and there as too much blood around him.

"Phil please I don't want to die." He sobbed, desperately reaching out for Phil's hand.

Phil grabbed it at once.

"Don't worry you wot die, I won't let you die. Now you just hold onto my hand and stay awake."

Tears started falling from Dan's face and he looked up to phil.

"Don't leave me, please don't leave me." He whispered

"I'll stay with you always, I promise."

Dan smiled but was quickly struck with a coughing fit and more blood started coming out of his mouth. Phil was about to call for help when he heard the rustling of armour behind him. By the tie he realised what was happening it was too late. Phil let out a cry of pain as a sword was brought down on his back. He looked down in horror to where it had penetrated his chest. The was blood soaking into his shirt and the blade was pulled out in one swift motion. He fell to the floor beside Dan.

The pain was unbearable and he heard the laugh of the solider before the sound of him walking away.

"No Phil!" Dan cried and he hit the floor, "You can't go, you promised you'd stay." Their hands were both firmly clasped together now.

"I won't leave you, I'm right here." Phil replied weakly, although he could feel himself slipping away he would let Dan down. The lay like that for a minute before Dan let out a choking sound.

"Love you." He whispered, using all the strength he had to turn his head and look at Phil. Phil smiled and squeezed his hand gently.

"Love you too." His voice was barely there and his vision was starting to go. He could feel the warm ooze of blood as it soaked through his clothes. He hoped his mother got out ok, he hoped his brother was alive and well. There were so many things he wanted to do, wanted to see. Dans hand fell limp in his and he gave it one final squeeze before letting the darkness wrap around him. He couldn't break his promise to Dan but he had to let go.

I tried Dan, I really did . . .


End file.
